Maybe Someday
by kt2785
Summary: Kate pines for Sawyer. But it's complicated. Kate still remembers her feelings for Jack. Sawyer has just lost Juliet and wants nothing to do with Kate, because he knows where it could lead.
1. Chapter 1

_Maybe, someday we'll figure all this out  
Try to put an end to all our doubt  
And try to find a way to make things better now that  
Maybe, someday we'll live our lives out loud  
We'll be better off somehow, Someday-Rob Thomas "Someday"

* * *

_

She was smiling. No not smiling. Laughing. She wasn't laughing, she was chuckling. How dare her be happy. How dare her show her beautiful smile. He didn't want to watch her, but he couldn't look away. She was talking to Hurley and Sayid. Hurley whispered something to her and she nodded and smiled again. He was glad that it was Hurley that had made her laugh instead of Jack. He said something else. She shook her head and then stood up and walked toward him. He retreated. He went into his tent. He didn't want to talk to her. Didn't want to face her. He heard Kate sit down outside of the tent and let out a soft sigh.

"You have to come out sometime you know," she said quietly, but he heard her loud and clear.

"No I don't," he mumbled. He wasn't sure if she heard him or not, but she kept talking.

"You're gonna have to pee eventually," she told him. He didn't care. He would stay in there all night. He wasn't coming out. But Kate wasn't leaving. She sat outside. She waited. It was half way through the night. At some point, Sawyer fell asleep, and when he woke up he had to piss like a racehorse. He quickly but as quietly as possible got up and out of the tent. Kate was sitting on the airplane seat with her arms crossed over her chest. She was sleeping. He sneaked away and when he got back Kate was still sleeping. He started into the tent.

"Wait," she said. He sighed deeply and looked at her.

"I really just want to be alone Kate," he said, somewhat coldly.

"I'm so sorry James," Kate whispered softly.

"Can you just leave me alone?" he asked. "For once Kate. Just let it be. Go away."

"I don't think you should be left alone," she answered. "I know that it's-I know I'm the last person you want to see, but-I'm just so sorry. I know how much you loved her. I saw it."

"You never saw it," he argued. But surprisingly he sat down next to her, forcing her to move over and make room for him.

"Oh yeah?" she asked. "Well when Jack was going to drop the bomb down that hole…I saw you looking at her. You looked at her with such…adoration. You loved her James."

"Thanks Kate, didn't really need a recap," he replied.

"I'm just so sorry," she whispered. "I know you don't care right now. But…I'm sorry."

"You never liked her," he said. "You never trusted her. Y'know. She used to say the same things. 'I know how much you loved her'. 'I'm here if you need someone'. That was her. When you left, she was there for me when no one else was. I didn't have anything left to hold on to, but she…she comforted me. She was-I dunno. And it's really sad because the moment when she needed me to be there for her…I couldn't be. I looked at you when Bernie was talkin' about what mattered most. S'why she wanted to end things…and then…I let her go. I let her slip away."

"You didn't-" she began.

"It's your fault anyway," he interrupted.

"What?" she asked.

"If ya'll hadn't come back and ruined our perfect existence…me and Jules…we'd be all cozy in our house. I wouldn't be stuck on this damn beach again, and maybe she'd still be alive. Just leave me alone Kate."

He stood back up and went into the tent. He pulled the flap back angrily and Kate stood up and pulled it back.

"You're not honestly going to blame this whole thing on us?" she asked. "We didn't-"

"Why did you come back?" he whispered.

"What?" she asked.

"Leave me alone," he interrupted. "Don't. I mean it Kate. If you know what's good for you just get the hell out."

"Jame-" she started again.

"Get out!" he yelled. She got up and nodded and walked down the beach.

She sat down at the fire with Hurley and Sayid. Jack was sitting nearby too. She looked over at him.

"How's he doing?" Jack asked.

"How do you think?" Kate murmured. "He didn't really feel like talking. He told me to leave him alone, so I'm leaving him alone."

"How long is that gonna last?" he half smirked.

"Well," she murmured. "Right now…indefinitely. I know that he doesn't want to see me right now. I think it's better if I leave him alone. Give him time to get over her. Not that I would-I just think that he's too hurt to care."

"Should I-" Jack began.

"No," she shook her head. "I don't think that's a great idea Jack. He really just wants to be left alone. He blames himself. He just doesn't want to be-he thinks it's his fault she fell."

"Well that's stupid," Hurley scoffed. "She-"

"I know," Kate nodded. "I know it's not his fault. _Juliet_ knows it's not his fault. But when you think something…he just needs some time. He probably won't ever get over her."

"What do you mean?" Sayid asked.

"When you love someone," Kate began. "When you love someone so much, even if they're unattainable. Even if they're far away…you can't ever forget them. You can't ever get over them. No matter how hard you try."

Her eyes gazed toward Jack's. She didn't mean to make it so obvious, but suddenly it got very quiet. Jack nodded at her and sighed.

"I'm gonna go get some more firewood," he mumbled.

"Jac-" she began, but he kept walking.

Jack walked toward the jungle. Sawyer was coming out of his tent. Jack knew he wasn't going to apologize to Kate, but Jack stopped and watched him anyway. He kept walking, but then doubled back to where Sawyer was now sitting in the dark by himself. He sat down next to him. Sawyer rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"I know you want to be left alone, but-" Jack sighed deeply. "There's something I didn't tell you."

"What are you talkin' about?" Sawyer mumbled.

"Why me and Kate broke up," he continued. "I-I couldn't fix it Sawyer, because it was never me."

"What?" he scoffed. "Doc, I don't know what the hell you've been-"

"It was because of you," Jack interrupted. "She-she was still in love with you."

"What?" he asked, scoffing again.

"One night," Jack began, sighing. "I came home from work, and I heard her on the phone. She wouldn't tell me who she was talking to, but I knew whatever it was, she was trying to hide something. I felt like I was losing my mind, along with losing her at the same time. It was driving me crazy. Then a couple nights later, I came home from work early. She wasn't there. Which was making me crazy too-"

"So Freckles was cheatin'," Sawyer chuckled.

"In a manner of speaking," he mumbled. "She told me that she was doing something for you. But she wouldn't tell me what. I knew that she was still in love with you."

"She was never in love with me doc," he shook his head. "If she was so in love with me, how come she got all crazy when you were eatin' dinner with Juliet? Which by the way, I still find it pretty funny that I got both girls before you got either of 'em."

"You know what Sawyer, screw you," Jack scoffed. "I was just trying to-"

"Just trying to what?" he snapped. "Make me realize that Kate loves me…great. Too little too late doc. If she loved me so much, maybe she should have told me 3 years ago."

"Would that have made you wait for her?" he whispered.

"I did wait," Sawyer said. "I waited. Me and Juliet-I waited for Kate to come back. I didn't think I'd ever love anyone else ever again, but then I did. I loved Juliet. The fact that you and Kate broke up because of me…seems to me like you're just a little too insecure. I'm not so sure that would be Kate's answer if I asked her why the two of you didn't work out. Hurley…he told me somethin' about drugs…alcohol? Maybe that's the reason that Kate didn't want to be with you. Ever think about that?"

"Every day," Jack replied. He walked away from Sawyer and Sawyer watched him go down the sand by himself. He looked in the opposite direction, where Kate was sitting talking to Hurley and Sayid, seemingly completely oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place, but part of Sawyer knew that she had been watching them.

**A/N: So should I keep going??? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

He didn't sleep. He went to his tent and laid down. He didn't sleep all night. He knew he wouldn't. He didn't try. The tent looked exactly the same as he remembered from 3 years ago. The last time he slept in his tent it was by himself. The night he played the tape for everyone. He remembered it almost like it was yesterday. Hearing Juliet's words. Talking about taking samples from Kate. He remembered his heart beating faster. He remembered looking over at Kate and seeing the look on her face. She didn't look scared. She almost looked as if she wasn't surprised at all. And then he remembered their conversation at the creek. There was no way that he wanted a baby. But then he remembered a conversation he had with Juliet. Only a few days before Kate and everyone came back.

**Flashback**

"That baby," she whispered. "Amy's baby, it's gonna be here any day. And I don't know what I'm going to do. James-"

"Hey," he shook his head. "You don't have to do anything. You're in the motor pool remember? You're not the doctor."

"Yeah, well the doctor isn't here right now, so if she goes into labor-"

"I promise you Juliet," he said. "I'm not going to make you do anything."

"So-uh," she began and then tipped her head down. He looked at her and sighed softly.

"Tell me," he whispered.

"I love you," she said softly. "I sorta…James-I'm not young."

"What?" he chuckled. "What are you talking-"

"I'm not 25 years old anymore," she shook her head.

"Well I'm not either," he shrugged.

"Y'know," she sighed. "I never thought I'd be a good mom. I dunno. I just-I cared too much about my job to ever have time to be a mom, but-"

"You'd be a great mom," he told her softly. She half smiled and then sighed and shook her head.

"Never mind," she whispered.

"Jules," he said softly. "Juliet…come on. You can talk to me about anything. I'm not-"

"Do you want kids?" she asked.

"Never thought I did," he said. "I'm missing everything with Clementine. I know she doesn't exist yet, but-I never thought I'd be any good at the daddy thing either. But then again, I never thought I'd be any good at the relationship thing either."

She smiled again and leaned forward to kiss him.

**Flashforward Over**

He hated sleeping alone. He had never been any good at it. It might have come from the fact that his mom always cuddled with him right before sleep time. Then when he got old enough he always had a woman in his bed. It never meant much until one night. The night with Kate. She had been in his arms. He held her all night. It was comfortable.

Once the plane crashed he learned to sleep by himself, but he didn't particularly like it. It was a fresh start. He could be whoever he wanted. He could change his ways, but a tiger doesn't change his stripes. He could have changed if he really wanted, but part of him didn't want to. He had to start over again when the island was jumping through time. And now he had to start over again. He didn't want to bother. He wasn't going to start over. He hoped that Kate would leave him alone, but he had a feeling that she wouldn't.

Kate stayed up late too. It was mainly because she didn't have a place to stay. They were taking turns keeping look out. She was sitting next to Sayid who looked like he was dozing off. Her tent looked the same as it did 3 years ago too. It was a pile of rubble. She kept meaning to fix it when they arrived back at the beach, but she never did. She felt someone come up behind her. She looked up and saw Jack.

"Hey," she whispered softly.

"Hey," he said. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

"I guess no where tonight," she replied. "Maybe I'll just stay up all night."

"You look exhausted," he stated.

"Thanks," she chuckled and then yawned.

"Take my tent," he replied. "It's-no biggie. I'll just stay out here, watch the sun come up."

"I don't-" she began.

"Kate, it's no big deal," he shrugged. "Just take my tent. I don't want you getting sick. Then it will be my fault for not offering you a bed. Go. It's fine. I'll keep watch. Me and Sayid will take turns."

"Are you sure-" she started.

"Go!" he exclaimed with a chuckle. She laughed too and got up. She hesitated, but then walked over to the tent and fell into the sand. She sighed softly. She missed sleeping next to someone too. She got really used to it when she was on the run, but she also got used to having a family. Aaron was her family. There hadn't been any sightings of Claire, which made her really nervous. She had made a promise to Carole as well as herself that she would bring Claire back. If she didn't find her, it would be all her fault.

The next morning Kate sat up in Jack's bed. She crawled to the door of the tent and tried to stand up. She was very sore and stiff from sleeping on the ground. She groaned as she stood up completely.

"Sore?" his voice startled her. She jumped and then chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Rough night."

Sawyer smirked at her and then walked back over to his own tent. He sat down on the airplane seats. Kate walked over to him and crossed her arms.

"I was gonna go try to find some mangos," she told him. "You wanna come with?"

"I don't do sloppy seconds, but thanks anyway," he replied.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"I don't really want to hang out with you after you and Jack made the beast with two backs last night," he said.

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Sawyer…you're an asshole."

She walked away. She was gone for most of the day. He tried not to think about her. But part of him worried. Jack walked over and he grumbled. He didn't understand why people wouldn't just leave him alone. He thought about just moving a few miles down the beach to be alone.

"Have you seen Kate?" Jack asked. "I mean-"

"Went into the jungle a few hours ago," Sawyer answered. "After she stumbled out of your tent all hungover."

"Hungover?" he asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Well I'm guessing since Kate came out of your tent she spent the night," Sawyer replied. "You two knocking boots again? I mean I guess it's fitting. Now that your stuck on the island again, no pills or alcohol to ruin your relationship. You get to go back to being saint Jack since you're sober again."

"Sawyer, you have no idea what you're talking about," Jack stated.

"Oh yeah?" Sawyer challenged.

"Yeah!" Jack exclaimed. "If anything happens to her-"

"Oh, well when it does, you know where to find me to blame me," he answered.

"Well, I'm gonna go try to find her, you wanna come with?" he asked.

"Yeah right," Sawyer laughed softly.

"You're not going to help me?" he scoffed.

"Don't really feel like trudging into the jungle-never mind," he stated. "Look. There she is. All in one piece."

Jack looked over his shoulder and then started toward Kate. Sawyer watched him leave and didn't bother getting up off his seat.

Jack quickly walked toward her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sawyer said you were in the jungle," he replied.

"That's not really a new thing," she smirked. "I'm always going on adventures."

"Yeah, but-" he began. "I just wanted to make sure that Sawyer didn't do anything-"

"Yeah," she sighed. "But he's not-he's going through hell right now Jack. I can't-yeah. He was a jerk, but it wasn't really his fault."

"Even if we had sex, why is it his business anyway?" Jack asked.

"Jack," she shook her head.

"I mean really!" Jack exclaimed. "So what if you came out of my tent. We were engaged-"

"Jack stop," she whispered.

"Well is it his business?" he asked.

"No," she answered and swallowed hard. "But it must not have felt too great…him watching me leave your tent."

"Well if he cares so much about his relationship with Juliet, why would he care about our relationship?" Jack asked.

"Maybe the same reason I have," she replied. "Jack…when we were together. I-I did-I wanted to be with you. I wanted us to be married. I said yes. But…if I would have seen him with Juliet…I woulda been jealous as hell. Me and Sawyer-we had a really complicated relationship."

"Complicated?" he asked. "You were never even together Kate. It was just sex-"

"Ok," she sighed. "If you want Sawyer to stay out of our sex life that's fine. But it means you have to stay out of our lives too. It doesn't have anything to do with us. Me and Sawyer have nothing to do with you and me, I already told you that."

"But it ended because of him Kate," Jack whispered. Jack didn't give Kate time to give a rebuttal. He walked away from her and she shook her head. She pulled her backpack around so that she could reach inside of it. She took a mango from inside the pack. She quickly walked towards Sawyer. He didn't move from his spot, but he did flinch. She held out the mango.

"Take it," she said. "You have to eat something."

"Not hungry," he answered.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll just leave it here for you then."

She put it on the seat next to him and then started walking away. She stopped walking, and without turning back toward him she murmured softly, but loudly enough for him to hear her.

"I didn't sleep with Jack last night."

She walked away, not really caring what Sawyer's response would be. She walked down the beach and sat down by herself. She started drawing in the sand. At first Sawyer didn't know what she was doing, but then she started gathering the materials from the other vacant tents. She started building her tent by herself. Sawyer watched her. He wasn't sure why she didn't just try to fix her own tent. When she finished she went inside. He looked down at the mango Kate had left him. He sighed and picked it up. He wasn't hungry at all, but his mind wandered to Juliet, and she would be pissed if she knew he wasn't eating or sleeping. He could almost hear her voice..."Take care of yourself James. You have to take care of yourself." He sighed and picked it up. He looked at Kate's tent and stood up. He put the mango back down and walked towards Kate's newly constructed tent. Instead of being 5 tents away, now it was pretty close to his. He could hear sobbing before he got there. He didn't want to see her crying. He was the one that should be upset. What did she have to be sad about? He was almost at the door of her tent and then he walked back away.

"What'd you do?" Jack demanded.

"I didn't even talk to her," Sawyer answered. He knew that he and Jack were both being loud enough for Kate to hear them. "I was gonna-but-"

"Then why is she crying?" Jack whispered.

"How the hell should I know?" he scoffed. "What does she have to cry about?"

"Her son," he answered. Jack walked away leaving Sawyer stunned in silence.

**A/N: Thx for the reviews! I hope you liked this chapter. Review if you think I should keep going. **


	3. Chapter 3

Sawyer sat down outside of his tent. Jack's words played and replayed in his mind. Her son. Her son. Her son. Her son. Her son. Like a stupid broken record. He closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears as if he was a 4 year old.

He thought about Kate and unnamed son at home. She was pregnant. Why didn't she tell him? Ok, well he knew why she didn't tell him. They knew each other. He knew that she didn't tell him because he knew how he would react. He wouldn't have done well with it. He wanted to know his son's name. Everything had changed in 3 years. He wanted to know his daughter. She was 4. Well, he wasn't sure what year it was, so maybe she was only 4 months. And now he had a son. It must be killing her to not be near him. Their son. What was his name? Did he have Kate's green eyes? He wanted to know. But he was more angry at her for not telling him. He was so mad he didn't want to even look at her, so he wasn't going to ask her. He would find Jack later. Jack. That bastard got to see his son every day. They lived together. He hoped that "no-name" son didn't call Jack daddy. He hoped that Kate wouldn't let that happen. But then if they were engaged…Jack was going to be his daddy. Well his step-daddy, but daddy no less. Sawyer wasn't in his life, so obviously Jack was like his dad. It made Sawyer want to hurl. He quickly stood up and walked toward the fire where Jack, Sayid, and Hurley were gathered.

"Jack!" Sawyer exclaimed.

"What?" he asked.

"What does he look like?" Sawyer asked.

"What?" Jack said.

"My-Kate's son," he said. "What does he look like?"

"Like his mom," Jack half smiled. Sawyer sighed softly.

"Is he-" Sawyer looked over at Kate's tent and then shook his head. "Never mind."

He walked away quickly. Hurley looked over at Jack.

"Dude," he said. "Aren't you gonna tell him that it's Aaron?"

"Why should I?" Jack asked. "He can assume whatever he wants. Kate told him she wasn't pregnant. If he wants to believe that Kate would do that to him, let him think it."

"I'm gonna go-" Hurley said.

"Hurley," Jack shook his head. "Just leave him alone. Let it go. He has to learn how to not treat Kate like crap."

"Really?" Hurley smirked. "What about you-"

"Don't go there Hurley," he said.

"Sawyer might have treated Kate like crap, but only because he doesn't-look at him Jack. He's devastated," Hurley replied. "I mean, I know he's never been exactly the nicest person, but no one deserves the pain that he's gone though."

"Whatever," Jack sighed.

"Come on Jack," he stated. "His parents were killed right in front of him when he was 8. 8 years old. He was just a little boy. Can you imagine growing up without a mother and a father?"

"It might have been better if I didn't have a dad," Jack murmured.

"Hey, I grew up without a dad Jack," Hurley said. "And lemme tell you. It's not fun. It sucks. In fact it really sucks. And then-he had to lose Kate."

"He didn't lose Kate," he shook his head. "He jump-"

"To save her!" Hurley yelled this time. "I'm sure it took a lot of time for him to get over Kate, and he was happy with Juliet. Juliet just blew up. So just give the guy a break."

"After everything we all went through," Jack began. "He never once gave any of us a break. 'cept maybe Kate. So why should I-"

"Because you're better than that," Hurley responded. "Or at least I thought you were."

Hurley got up and went into his tent. Jack watched him and then sighed and looked at Sayid.

"Hurley is right Jack," Sayid said. "I know you probably don't want to hear that, but-we all get to start over again. It's another chance at redemption. Right now Sawyer doesn't care about anything, but he will come around. I'm sure of it. No one liked him when the plane first crashed either, but then we got to know him."

Sawyer saw Kate coming out of her tent. She went into the jungle. He figured she was just going to the bathroom or something. He watched the spot in the trees that she went. He heard the loud metallic sound. He quickly got up and ran toward the trees.

"Kate!" he exclaimed. "Get out of there! Kate! Freckles!"

He heard a loud scream and ran toward it. Kate ran toward him, but she was limping. She fell against him and he fell to the ground too.

"Get up!" she exclaimed.

"Well then get off of me!" he yelled back. She quickly got off of him and they ran out of the jungle. They ran out onto the beach. They both were out of breath. She looked at him and winced.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Fine," he chuckled. "You?"

"Yeah," she answered. She started walking away.

"You're limping," he told her.

"I twisted my ankle," she replied.

"Well better go tell the doc," he said.

"I don't want to tell him," she shook her head. "He's just gonna tell me how stupid it was that I went into the jungle by myself."

"Well, I ain't no doctor," he replied.

"Just help me to the airplane seats," she whispered.

"Why there?" he asked.

"Because I need to elevate my foot," she answered. "And it's the most comfortable spot on the beach."

He stood up and then held out his hand for Kate to take. He helped her stand and they walked toward his tent. She sat down and he sighed and sat down next to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"Tell you what?" she whispered.

"Never mind," he murmured. "I guess I know why. Was Jack-never mind, I don't want to know."

"I was with Jack," she said.

"I know," he replied.

"I was with him because I didn't want to be alone," she whispered. "Well, ok that wasn't the only reason, but I just-"

"Do you love him?" he asked.

"Do you love Juliet?" she danced around his question.

"What do you think?" he scoffed. "Kate, she was-I fell completely in love with her. I loved her more than anything. But-we were-I never forgot about you. I tried. I tried to just be with Juliet and be happy. For a while I was. But then-when you came back-I can't-"

He got up and went into the tent. Kate sighed, but stayed outside of Sawyer's tent. Jack came walking toward her. She sighed again. She didn't try to get up.

"What happened?!" he exclaimed. "I heard the monster. But then I saw you and him coming out of the jungle-"

"I'm surprised you didn't just run toward me right then," she chuckled.

"I saw you with Sawyer," he replied. "I didn't want to-are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "I twisted my ankle. But I'm ok."

"Can I look at it?" he asked.

"Sure, but there's nothing to see," she said. He picked up her leg and she winced again. "I just twisted it. It's not broken."

"It's not," he told her. "You'll be fine."

"Thanks," she chuckled.

"I miss you," he whispered.

"Jack," she shook her head.

"I know-" he began. "I just miss what we had. I mean…not off the island. 3 years ago. Adventures in the jungle. Getting caught in Rousseau's traps. I just really miss all of it."

"Honestly," she whispered. "I miss you too. But-"

He leaned forward and kissed her softly. She backed away and put her hand against his chest. She pushed him away and shook her head.

"I gotta-" she began. She got up and limped back to her tent.

"Son of a bitch," Jack whispered. Sawyer heard the conversation. He heard the sound of the kiss. He wasn't sure what Kate's reaction was, only that she walked away from him. But maybe later on she would go back to his tent.

He stayed in his tent and didn't bother trying to go find Kate. He wasn't sure he would get any sleep tonight either. He rolled over on his stomach and looked in the corner of the tent. Something caught his eye. He crawled toward it and picked up the mix tape he had given to Kate. He picked it up and sighed softly. He thought about his son. He wondered if Kate ever talked about him.

Kate had told Aaron all about the mysterious island. She talked about Sawyer. But she talked about all of it as if it was a fairy tale. She couldn't talk about Sawyer as if he were real because it hurt way too much. She would hold Aaron in her arms and talk about the beautiful island. The woman with the gold hair. His real mom. She hoped that they would find Claire.

Kate couldn't stay in the tent anymore. She couldn't sleep. She came out of the tent and found Sawyer standing outside pacing. She gasped and chuckled softly.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothin'," he mumbled. "I couldn't sleep either. A lot on my mind. You and Jack-"

"I already told you," she shook her head. "We didn't sleep together. We didn't have sex. If you don't believe me that's your own problem."

"No," he sighed. "It's not about last night-it's-you two were together? He said something about-"

"You're jealous?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head. "I was with Juliet. We were happy. Almost too happy. I knew it wouldn't last. But when ya'll came back everything fell apart. I wanted to keep everything together, but I knew it couldn't last. Juliet knew it wouldn't last."

"If it makes you feel any better, it drives me crazy that you and Juliet-" she began and then stopped. "I missed you."

"Why?" he asked.

"You know," she half scoffed and half smiled. "I don't have a clue."

"I missed you too," he shook his head. "At first…I was with Juliet because it kept my mind-I mean I cared about her, I loved her, but at first it was just to keep my mind off missing you."

"James-" she whispered.

"And it worked," he sighed. "I fell in love with her, and you didn't matter anymore. I didn't care. I mean…I was waiting for you all to come back, but I wasn't going to let it change my feelings for Juliet."

"It didn't though," she whispered.

"No," he shook his head. "It didn't change what I felt for her, but…I wasn't supposed to still want you. When you came back I wasn't supposed to still love you. I was supposed to be completely cured of my insanity. I was an idiot for letting myself feel anything for you, because you would never return it."

"James-" she began.

"Like Jack said, it was just sex," he stated.

"You heard us?" she asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Well then you musta heard me set him straight," she replied. "Sawyer…we had something. It wasn't just sex. You have to know that."

"Yeah, well, obviously it wasn't that special since you're going to keep things from me," he answered.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "I haven't kept anything-"

"I should know my kid," he replied.

"What do you want to know?" she whispered. "I'll tell you anything. She's beautiful. She has blonde hair and these piercing eyes."

"Not her," he mumbled. "Never mind. You're not going to tell me anything anyway. But can-Jack."

"I never told Jack a thing," she answered. "I-James, I wanted to-I wanted to keep something that was just between us."

"I never asked you to do that," he scoffed. "I mean…I don't really relish being the cause of your break up with Jack. I mean I'm flattered and all, but when both of you end up alone and miserable, I don't want to be the one you blame."

"You aren't the reason," she whispered and shook her head. "I mean…maybe part of it, but-definitely not the entire reason."

"I don't want to know," he replied. He started to get up, but Kate quickly grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down.

"Well you're gonna," she answered. "I have to-tell you."

"Of course you do," he sighed and looked out to the waves. He didn't act like he was listening, but Kate knew he would hear every word.

"We were together," she began. "You don't need to know all the details. Only that it didn't last very long."

"Kinda like your first marriage," he murmured.

"What?" she asked.

"Never mind," he replied. "You don't remember, carry on."

"We were together for 6 months. Jack moved in," she said. "I wanted so badly to just be happy. I forced it. We all pretended that all of this didn't happen. We all pretended that you all were dead. Jack never talked about you or anyone else. He didn't want to remember I guess. It hurt too much. Believe me I wanted to forget too. But I couldn't. Mainly because I kept visiting Clementine."

"I didn't ask you to-" he began.

"It was a way that I could see you all the time," she answered. "Even though it hurt. And even though Cassidy continued to convince me that you jumped to stay away from me-"

"I didn't jump to stay away from you Kate," he sighed deeply.

"Anyway," she sighed. "Me and Jack…we just-everything fell apart. He started drinking. I was lying to him about what I was doing for you. It just-"

"I wouldn't have expected you to lie to him," he mumbled.

"I just didn't think you'd want him to know," she whispered.

"I would have wanted you to keep it," he replied, completely contradicting himself. "But I wouldn't have been surprised if you told him. You were engaged to him. I told Juliet everything. We didn't have any secrets…I guess mainly because we didn't really do anything that was worth lying about."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Stop sayin' that," he shook his head.

"Well, I am," she replied.

"I know," he said. "But, just stop saying it."

"What can I do?" she asked. "I mean. I want-I want to do something."

"I didn't sleep last night," he whispered.

"I didn't really either," she shrugged.

"I don't like sleeping alone," he mumbled. "I kept rolling over and she wasn't there."

"James-" she whispered. "I remember our game of I Never. I remember everything. How could I forget?"

"Don't," he said. She reached over to put her hand on his shoulder. He flinched and pushed her hand away. She reached forward again and touched his cheek. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "Kate-"

"Sorry," she stated. She pulled her hand away. He leaned forward. Their lips were almost touching and they heard a scream coming from behind them. They both looked, and saw a very pregnant Claire stumbling out of the jungle.

**A/N: Please take a sec to review!!!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: ****Show, don't tell****- Thanks for the review. I honestly do appreciate criticism. However the whole Hurley thing in the previous chapter. I actually can see him saying that to Jack. I wanted to give Hurley a backbone because he always just sits there. Jack and Kate aren't over. In fact I had them have a moment in each chapter for a reason. But thanks for the review. I hope you keep reading…and hopefully reviewing too. **

Kate and Sawyer both got up and ran toward her. Claire stumbled and fell to the sand.

"Claire!" Kate exclaimed. "Are you-"

"Everyone's gone," she said. "I've just been wandering in the jungle trying to find my way back. But I was so lost. I was in the middle of the jungle. Some cabin. I…it took me forever to find you guys."

Jack came running toward them too.

"Claire," he whispered. "You alright? The baby?"

"I'm ok," she said.

"How long have you been out in the jungle-" Jack began

"Where is everyone else?" Kate asked. "I mean, we've been here 3 days now. 3 days. No one else has shown up. How is Claire-none of this makes sense."

Claire gasped and held on to her stomach.

"Uh, doc," Sawyer said.

"I can't have this baby right now," Claire whispered.

"Why not?" Kate asked.

"Because I can't," she shook her head and sobbed. "I'm not ready. I'm not-I'm not going to be a good mother. I can't do this Kate."

"Yes you can," Kate replied. "You can. And you will. You have to. You don't want anything bad to happen to the baby do you?"

"No," she breathed in sharply.

"Ok," Kate smiled. "It's gonna be ok. We're all here for you."

"Ok," Jack started. "We have to get her to a tent."

"Mine's the closest," Kate replied. Kate and Jack both helped Claire to the tent. Sawyer hesitated, but then followed. Claire laid down and Jack left the tent.

"Where are you going?!" Claire exclaimed.

"I'm gonna go get some supplies," Jack said softly. "Everything is going to be ok Claire. Sawyer, go get your liquor."

"How do you know-" Sawyer started.

"You wanna help, go get it Sawyer," Jack answered. "We don't have time for this."

Sawyer sighed deeply and left the tent. He ran to his tent.

"What's going on?" Hurley asked.

"Claire's having her baby," Sawyer said quickly.

"What?!" he exclaimed. "Claire's back?"

"She just came stumbling out of the jungle," Sawyer murmured.

"Oh my God!" Hurley exclaimed. "It's like a miracle."

Sawyer went back to the tent quickly and handed the bottles of alcohol to Jack. Including a bottle of scotch that he hadn't remembered having when they first crashed. He didn't know what was going on. He knew they were stuck in time again. He hoped that they would be able to get back. Sawyer left the tent and walked back to his own. He could hear the commotion coming from Kate's tent. He could hear them all. Hurley was waiting outside of the tent. It wasn't very long before he could hear the baby crying. He smirked and let out a soft laugh.

Kate left the tent and wrapped her arms around Hurley. Hurley whispered something in her ear and she was crying, but smiling too. Sawyer watched them and crinkled his forehead. He wondered why she would be acting this way. He was a bastard. He was an asshole. Kate and Jack were both right. Aaron. Of course. Aaron was Kate's son. He didn't know why it took him so long to make the connection. Kate didn't have their baby. She had Aaron. He sighed deeply. He started getting up, but heard Kate coming up behind him.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," he murmured.

"It's a boy," she said.

"Oh really?" Sawyer smirked and shook his head. "What is she gonna name him?"

"She doesn't know yet," Kate smiled, the tears were still glinting in her eyes.

"He was yours wasn't he?" Sawyer asked.

"He was never mine," Kate shrugged and shook her head. "I only-I needed him. I needed something to hold on to. I loved him more than anything."

She wrinkled her face and he knew she was about to burst into tears again. She didn't though. She took a deep breath and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter anymore," she whispered. "He's back where he belongs. One thing I can't figure out though…I thought whatever happened happened. If it's the day Aaron was born, why was I not in the middle of the jungle helping her give birth? Why wasn't Jack helping Boone? I don't understand any of this. Where is everyone? What about Charlie? I don't-"

"I don't get it either Kate," he whispered.

"Well you should get it more than I do!" she exclaimed. "You know more about all this time travel crap!"

"I don't know anything anymore Kate," he shook his head. "I'm just as shocked to see her coming out of the jungle as you are. But has anything on this island ever made much sense? Not really."

"I know," she sniffled."Don't you want to go spend time with Claire and the baby?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "Sawyer I can't. I can't watch her be so sublimely happy with that baby. I just can't. She's just so excited. I can't ruin that."

"I don't think you being there would ruin that," he replied.

"Jack's trying to explain to her where everyone is," she said. "I don't know how any of us are supposed to explain it."

"Well good luck Jack," Sawyer chuckled.

"What about Locke? What about Daniel and Miles? I don't-"

"Well I'd suggest trying to stop trying to understand," he replied. "It took me 3 years to try to figure out why we were stuck in the 70's."

"I'm sorry about-" she began.

"Don't be," he shook his head. "I was the one who tried to kiss you. It was a bad idea. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"I'm gonna go," she whispered. He watched her walk to her tent. She ducked inside and saw Claire and Jack talking. Claire was holding the baby closely. She was crying, but smiling at the same time.

"Hey," Kate said. "How is everyone?"

"We're fine," Claire said.

"I told her everything Kate," Jack said.

"Jack-" Kate began. "Claire I-I don't know-"

"I don't know what to say either," Claire shook her head. "Except that I've always wanted a big brother. I guess it makes sense. My dad…he knew things that only he could know. Well I suppose he could have-but…I have a brother. It's amazing."

"Oh," Kate whispered. "He's adorable Claire."

"Thanks," Claire smiled. "You wanna hold him?"

"Uh, no," she answered quickly. "Don't take it the wrong way Claire."

"I suppose you want your tent back," Claire said. "Me and the baby can get outta here."

"No," Kate shook her head. "It's fine, you and Aaro-, I mean the baby need to get some sleep."

"Aaron?" Claire asked. "Where'd you get that?"

"I-uh," Kate began. "Never mind. I don't-"

"Did you name my baby?" Claire asked. "What are you doing? Why would you-"

"Claire, I didn't-" she shook her head.

"Kate didn't do anything," Jack told her. "It's ok. Kate isn't trying to do anything."

"Jack-" Kate began. "Claire there's something you should know-"

"Kate," Jack interrupted.

"Aaron is just the name of a baby I knew once," she said softly. "Your baby kinda looks like him. I don't know what made me say it. I'm sorry. But don't worry. I'm not going to try to take him or anything. I promise. He's your baby. I promise."

"Ok," Claire replied, but Kate knew that she wasn't exactly ok. "It's a great name. I love it. Can I-can I take it. Do you mind? I mean…never mind. I don't want to take that name. What if you decide to have a baby someday? I mean-"

"Take it," she smiled. "I think he looks like an Aaron."

"Me too," Claire answered.

Kate left the tent and walked down the beach. She knew that Jack would follow her. Part of her wanted him to, but the other part really didn't. She turned back around and saw him coming toward her.

"Kate," he whispered. "Are you alright?"

"No," she shook her head.

"I'm sorry," he sighed.

"I thought-" she whispered.

"I know," he nodded. "I didn't tell her that part. How could I tell her?"

"What are we supposed to do now?" she asked. "Just pretend that none of it-none of it happened?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "I guess we just wait. We wait till we can get back to the right time. Anyway, where do you want to sleep tonight."

Kate couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. She shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Maybe this time I'll stay up all night. Watch the sunrise."

"Do you want company?" he asked."Well, now it's my turn," she said. "You look exhausted. Have you even slept?"

"Not much," he shrugged. "But I'm fine. I'll be fine."

"If you insist on staying," she sighed. "You can. But-I don't-"

"You want to be alone," he whispered.

"Jack, it isn't that," she shook her head. "It's just-everything. There's so much. I don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can watch Aaron every day."

"Everything is going to be alright Kate," he told her. "I'm sure of it. Everything will work out."

"At first I just needed something-" she whispered. "I needed something to help me. I was-I lost him."

"Sawyer?" he asked.

"I know you probably don't want to hear about it-"

"Kate, I already know," he shrugged.

"I never meant for any of this to happen," she shook her head.

"Any of what?" he asked.

"I didn't want to hurt you," she sniffled.

"You weren't over Sawyer," he said.

"But I wanted to be," she shook her head. "I wanted to marry you Jack. I wanted to be happy. And now I just don't know what to do."

"You don't have to do anything," he replied. "I'm just going to leave you alone. Let you come back to me. If that's what you decide."

She sighed and looked over at her tent, where Claire and Aaron were.

"What about Aaron?" she whispered. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know Kate," he sighed. "It's going to be hard. We'll do it together."

"Well you get to still be his uncle," she replied. "You're not going to have to stay away from him. You can't possibly know what's going on with me. My feelings-never mind. You don't understand."

"Yes I do," he whispered. "You know that I care about you and what you're feeling."

"I know you care," she said. "But just because you care, doesn't mean you know how I feel."

"Fine," he shook his head. "I'm trying here Kate."

"I know," she sighed. "Jack, it's fine. I just-I wanna be alone."

"That's all you had to say Kate," he whispered. He walked back up the beach. Kate put her head down in her hands. She heard rustling coming from behind her. She looked back and Sawyer was leaving his tent. He had a backpack and his gun. He didn't see her. He walked toward the jungle by himself. Kate gasped softly. She quickly got up and ran toward where Jack was sitting.

"Sawyer just went into the jungle by himself."

"So?" Jack asked. "He can take care of himself."

"Jack, he had his gun, and his pack. I was waiting for this," she shook her head.

"Waiting for what?" he asked.

"He's going to find Juliet," Kate said. "You know he is. We can't let him go by himself. Besides, he can't track worth a damn. He's gonna get himself lost. If you're not gonna come with me can I at least have a gun."

"Sawyer should have all the guns at this point," he replied.

Kate nodded and ran back to Sawyer's tent. She went to find the guns. She dug in the sand to try to find it. She found them quickly and made sure it was loaded. It was weird being back in Sawyer's tent. It looked the same. She quickly got up and ran after Sawyer. She didn't get far before she found his shoe prints. She walked quicker. She came up behind him and he stopped walking.

"Stop following me," he said.

"No," she replied.

"Please Kate," he whispered. "I can't-"

"Well," she began. "I'm not letting you go alone. What the hell were you thinking? Coming in the middle of the night? You're going to-"

"I think you're forgetting that I lived here for 3 years Kate," he stated. "I have to see her-"

"Sawyer," she sighed. "What if she-"

"We can go to The Pearl," he told her.

"What is The Pearl?" she asked.

"It's a station," he answered. "And it runs underground all the way to the barracks."

"So what are you gonna do?" she scoffed. "Just show up there and say "guess what? you got a new recruit"? I don't know what you're thinking Sawyer, but obviously what ever it is, you're not thinking straight."

"I just-you and Jack-" he shook his head. "I want her back Kate. All I care about is that she's ok. She can make everything better."

"What does that have to do with me and Jack?" she whispered.

"I just don't want to be alone," he mumbled. "I've been alone all my life. Sure a different girl in my bed every night, but I've always been alone. Juliet...she made it all better. I wasn't alone when I was with her."

"You don't have to be alone," Kate sighed. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. He backed away and shook his head.

"I don't want help," he replied. "I just want to get back to Juliet."

"Can't you at least wait till it's light out?" she asked.

"Fine," he shook his head. "You win. I'll go in the morning."

"Thank you," she said. "Let's go."

They walked back to the beach together. Sawyer looked at her and sighed.

"Since Claire's in your tent," he murmured. "You wanna take mine?"

"Nah," she replied. "Thanks. I'm just gonna sit out here all night."

"I was just thinking the same thing," he sighed. "You ok? I mean...Aaron."

"I wasn't, but chasing you into the jungle kinda helped me take my mind off it," she smiled weakly. "You thought I was pregnant didn't you? You thought that my son was our son didn't you?"

"Well, when the doc told me-" he began.

"Yeah, I heard him," she replied.

"Then why didn't you tell me," he said. "You made me believe that I left two kids behind."

"I don't know," she shook her head. "Because I'm a bad person."

"No you're not," he whispered. "I am."

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"Well, I'm a thief and a murderer," he started. "I denied my infant daughter, and she's gonna grow up without a daddy."

"I'm a murderer too," she whispered.

"But the man you killed deserved it," he replied.

"James-" she began. "You're not a bad person."

"I want to find Juliet," he said.

"We'll go tomorrow morning," she whispered.

"You can't come with me," he shook his head.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because I don't want you to," he answered.

"You're just trying to protect me," she said.

"No," he chuckled. "If that were true, I know you'd just follow me anyway. I don't want you there. I need to do this alone."

He got up and went into the tent. Kate stayed outside of the tent and watched the sky. She looked at the stars. She looked over at her tent. She wondered if Juliet would even remember any of them. She also wondered if they would ever see any of their friends again. The ones who were supposed to be dead. If it was November 1st, where was everyone else?

Kate stayed up all night. She watched the sunrise. When everyone else started coming out of their tents, she got up. She went to Sawyer's tent and knocked on the side of it. There was no answer. She opened the flap, and he was gone.

**A/N: Reviews would be awesome.**


	5. Chapter 5

Sawyer had gotten up early. The sun wasn't even up. Just the beginning pink that the sun would be coming up soon. He looked at Kate sitting down the beach. She was awake, but she wasn't looking at anything. She was so damn stubborn. He didn't know why she wouldn't just let him offer her his tent. Yes he did. She knew as well as he did what giving her his tent would have meant. He only let himself look for another second before quickly and quietly leaving and going into the jungle.

* * *

Kate looked at the empty tent for a moment longer and then closed her eyes and looked across the beach. Claire was sitting outside with Jack. She handed him the baby and he looked slightly awkward. Kate imagined that it was awkward. He was holding his nephew for the first time. He never even held Aaron as a newborn. Never once. Even when he had been 'sick' Claire had held him while Jack did the examination. Even though he looked slightly awkward, it was natural. Kate smiled and then left for the jungle by herself. She couldn't ruin the family moment. She knew she'd pay later. She knew Jack would tell her what a dumb move it was to try to go after Sawyer without anyone else. She briefly thought that maybe she should go get Sayid, but decided it would be faster if she went by herself.

She found her way to the hatch Sawyer had called The Pearl. She climbed down the ladder. Sawyer was already long gone. She followed the tunnel. She assumed it was connected to the same building that Sawyer was watching the monitors in. Where they had kept "the prisoner" Sayid. She practically ran. She found her way through the tunnels. It didn't take her that long. It was better than trying to avoid the smoke monster and polar bears. Not to mention The Others.

She bumped into something solid and they both fell to the ground. Sawyer looked up at her.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"I was pacing," he sighed and looked at her. "Tryin' to figure out what to do. We have to figure out-I think I told you not to-"

"Did you really expect me to stay away?" she asked. "Let me-"

"Stay here," he whispered.

"Why?" she asked. "I hate to break this to you James but they're not going to know who you are. Well…ok, maybe they'll know you were on the plane, but they aren't going to think you were ever in the Dharma initiative.

"Juliet will remember me," he replied. "She has to remember me Kate."

"I hope for your sake that she does. I really really hope," she replied.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Well she will. She wouldn't forget-"

"But it hasn't happened yet!" she screamed.

"Then why do I remember. Why wouldn't she remember?" he asked.

"What if she died back in the 70's. What if-" she started.

"Don't!" he yelled. "I'm going up there. And you're going to stay down here."

"No I'm not!" she yelled back.

"You're both wrong," a voice said behind them. Kate fell to the ground and began convulsing.

"Kate!" Sawyer said. "What'd you do?"

"What are the two of you doing in our camp?" the man asked. Sawyer recognized the man as Aldo. He knew that he could outwit him, but he wasn't sure he wanted to take the chance on him zapping Kate again.

"We were exploring," Sawyer sighed. "We just-"

"How do you know what the Dharma is?" he asked.

"How long were you listening to us?" Sawyer asked.

"I'm the one asking the questions," Aldo stated.

"Where is Juliet? Juliet Burke," Sawyer said. "She knows us."

"Of course she does, we all know who you are, James Ford and Katherine Austen," he scoffed. "It's actually a good thing that you're here. You were supposed to come in a couple days anyway. A man named Michael is supposed to set one of our men free."

"What are you talking about?" Sawyer asked. "What is the date?"

"You don't know the date?" he scoffed.

"Well if you know who I am," Sawyer began. "Then you must know that I crashed in an airplane. I didn't exactly bring my portable calendar with me. What's the date?"

"November 27th 2004," he replied.

"Was that so hard?" Sawyer asked. Aldo knocked Sawyer against the head and Sawyer fell to the ground.

Sawyer woke up and was in his cage. HIS cage. Kate wasn't in the cage next to him. He quickly got up and went to the bars. Karl wasn't there either. He touched the bars and sighed softly. He was stuck in these cages again. He didn't know if Kate was ok. He had faith that she was, but he could never know for sure.

"Hey!" Kate exclaimed. "Get your hands off of me you bastard!"

Sawyer quickly tried to see where the commotion was coming from.

"Son of a bitch!" Kate screamed. "No!"

Sawyer couldn't see. He could only hear.

"Kate!" Sawyer exclaimed. "Hey! Leave her alone dammit! Hey! Hey! Hey you stupid assholes, take me!"

He could hear Kate sobbing, but still couldn't see anything. He was stuck. There was no way for him to climb out of the cage. He slammed his hands against the bars, as if it would do anything. He sighed deeply. "NO!" he yelled.

Ben came through the trees without Kate. Sawyer walked to the bars and reached out to try to reach Ben, but Ben was standing out of reach. He chuckled and mocked Sawyer.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Sawyer asked.

"Nothing," Ben smirked. "You were only hearing things."

"Where is she!" Sawyer exclaimed.

"Who?" Ben smirked. "The love of your life, or the consolation prize."

"What?" Sawyer scoffed.

"Who do you love more James?" Ben asked. "The pretty, but passive blonde or the saucy and stupid brunette."

"Passive?" Sawyer asked. "Juliet isn't passive."

"Out of all those words I used, that was the one you defend?" Ben chuckled.

"Shut up!" Sawyer exclaimed. "Where is she?"

"Who do you want to see first?" he smirked. "You must have a desire to see one more than the other."

"Well since I know you wouldn't hurt Juliet, I guess I just want to know that Kate is ok," Sawyer whispered.

"Kate is fine," Ben stated. "You have my word."

"Oh, and your word is so great," he murmured. "Where are they?"

"Who do you love more?" he asked. "I won't show you either of them till you answer my question."

"Juliet was there for me when no one else was," Sawyer started. "She had my back."

"But what about Kate?"

"How the hell do you know any of this!" Sawyer exclaimed. "How do you-"

"Because we've done all this before," Ben replied. "Juliet remembers. Everyone who was alive when we left remembers. Tom of course doesn't. He's alive again, and that's all that matters. Juliet keeps crying-she loves you James."

"I know," Sawyer answered.

"But our girl Kate," Ben started.

"Kate will never be your girl!" he spat.

"It's a figure of speech James," he replied.

"Kate…she was practically married to Jack," Ben began. "She loved him more than anything. She still does love him. So between Kate and Juliet-"

"Whatever I say, I'll lose," Sawyer answered. "If I tell you that it's Kate, you're going to do something to Juliet, and vice versa. I want to keep them safe."

"Simple question then," Ben began. "If Kate hadn't left the island, do you really think that you would have had even the slightest chance at being with her?"

"In the end?" Sawyer whispered. "Probably not."

"Do you think that she could ever love you the way she loves Jack?" Ben asked. Sawyer knew that he was just trying to plant that seed. That seed of doubt. That seed that would eventually drive Sawyer insane. He didn't want to know who Kate loved more. It didn't matter, because Juliet loved him. And that was more than enough…wasn't it?

"Probably not," Sawyer whispered.

"Then why do you want anything to do with that bitch?" Ben asked.

"I guess you're right Ben," he answered, only trying to ease his own mind and make Ben show him one of them.

"Bring her in!" Ben exclaimed. Tom brought Kate through the trees. He shoved her to the ground outside of Sawyer's cage. She grunted and sobbed.

"What did they do to you?" Sawyer whispered and knelt down.

"Nothing," she shook her head. Ben opened the cage door and shoved Kate into Sawyer's cage.

"Your little love nest," Ben smirked. He locked the cage and Sawyer looked at her. Neither of them said anything. Ben and Tom walked away leaving Sawyer and Kate alone. Sawyer looked at Kate. She was looking at the ground. She didn't look back up.

"Come on Kate, what did that bastard do to you?" he asked.

"I was supposed to make you believe that they touched me, but they didn't," she told him.

"Why are you all shook up then?" he asked. "Can't be from what I said about you. You know-"

"He was trying to make you believe something that isn't true," she shook her head.

"Do you really think I care who you love Kate?" he scoffed.

"Yes," she answered with a slight smile. "I actually do."

"Well, it doesn't matter," he replied. She moved to the cement slab and sat down. She remembered everything. She remembered every moment in the cage. Every touch. She remembered what it felt like to have his arms around her. It wasn't constricting like it so often used to feel. She could be herself. Without worry. Sawyer sat down on the ground and leaned up against the bars, facing Kate.

"Now that you know I'm ok, aren't you gonna ask about Juliet?" she asked.

"They're not gonna tell me anything," he replied.

"Well, I saw her," Kate said.

"Why didn't you say anything!" he exclaimed.

"What'd you want me to say Sawyer?" she asked. "I mean…I'm trying. I didn't-I couldn't exactly say anything with Ben standing right there."

"Well, is she ok?" he asked.

"Of course she is," Kate whispered. "Just like you said. She remembers everything. She wouldn't forget you. Ben wouldn't let her come see you."

"She'll find a way," Sawyer stated.

"Well, I'm sure she will," Kate chuckled.

"Why do they need us again?" Sawyer asked. "I mean…I don't get it. They have us again."

"Because they can," Kate shrugged. "I mean…if I climbed out of my own cage, I'm sure I can climb out of yours."

"No!" he exclaimed. "Kate are you completely crazy?! They're watching us."

"I know," she nodded. "I just don't know what to think. I can't be stuck here again. That's all I know."

"Juliet will come get us," he told her. "She wouldn't leave us here."

"Right," Kate murmured.

They both went to sleep. The next day Ben came to the cage. He looked at Sawyer and Kate and started chuckling softly.

"Get up, you're working today," Ben said.

"What?" Sawyer asked.

"You heard me right," Ben stated. "Come on."

Sawyer and Kate followed Ben. Ben handed them off to Pickett. Kate breathed in sharply and nervously. Sawyer reached for her hand, but then stopped. They walked together to the rock quarry. Sawyer looked at Kate and they began to work. They both looked around for Juliet, but she wasn't there. Kate knew that it had disappointed Sawyer.

"After your done tonight, we're taking you back," Ben said behind Sawyer.

"What?" Sawyer asked.

"You heard me right," he replied. "And that's where Juliet will be."

"What's the point of keeping us again?" Sawyer whispered. "If all of you remember this, why are you doing it again. And where the hell is Jack?"

"Jack couldn't make it," Ben smirked. "Well according to us. Jack is detained. In reality don't you worry. Your leader is safe at the beach with his sister and nephew. Another friend showed up last night too."

"Who?" Sawyer asked.

"Charlie."

**A/N: I don't know if any of this even makes sense, but for my story it's just going to have to. Shall I continue? Reviews would be beautiful. **


	6. Chapter 6

"Did he just say Charlie?" Kate asked.

"Yeah," Sawyer murmured.

That night Kate and Sawyer were on a boat. Kate was looking at the island. They were going back to their island. Kate figured they would just go back to the barracks. She knew that she wasn't going to be going back to the beach this quickly. She sighed softly. When the boat docked, Kate and Sawyer both got off the boat.

"Follow me James," Ben said. "Kate, you're staying here."

"No," Sawyer shook his head. "I ain't goin' nowhere."

"Don't you want to see her?" Ben asked. "She's waiting for you. What do you think she will do if you bring Kate?"

"If you touch her," he stepped toward Ben threateningly.

"Go Sawyer," Kate whispered. "I'll be fine. It's ok. I'll be ok."

Sawyer walked away with Ben. He looked back several times to make sure Kate was still standing there. She chuckled softly and waved him on. They got to the houses. Sawyer walked toward the house he knew was Juliet's.

"Where are you going?" Ben asked.

"You said she was waiting for me," Sawyer said. "Where is she?"

Ben stopped walking while Sawyer continued. He walked up the steps to the house and knocked on the door. He heard voices on the other side of the door. He heard chuckling. The door opened and Juliet was standing in front of him.

"James," she whispered. She came out of the house the rest of the way and shut the door behind her. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hey," he said, shakily.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"Jesus, Juliet, you were dead. You fell. I lost you," he replied. "But now, you're ok, and you're…who's in there?"

"Why do you care?" she asked.

"Juliet," he scoffed. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Ben told me you've been crying. He said you were in here waiting for me. So what's going on?"

"The man in there, is named Goodwin," she whispered. "We've been having an affair-"

"You told me about him," Sawyer murmured.

"Well, he's here right now," she said. "I can't exactly kick him out."

"Do you still love me?" he whispered.

"I loved you so much," she whispered. "I wanted to hang on as long as I could, but I couldn't. You stopped loving me first."

"What the hell are you talking-" he began.

"The second she came back!" she exclaimed.

"I never stopped loving you Juliet," he shook his head. "If you want to believe that you just go right ahead. I can't-we were together for 3 years, you really just want to throw all of it away?"

"None of it matters anymore James," she stated. "We were never supposed to be together."

He looked at her and shook his head. He stepped forward and put his hand on her cheek. She shook her head and moved away from him.

"I don't want to leave," he whispered.

"You wanna stay here," she chuckled. "Be an Other? Never see Kate again? Would you care if you never saw her again?"

"What?" he asked sharply.

"Who do you want-" she started.

"Juliet, I'm here. I want you-" he replied. "You never answered my question. Do you still love me?"

"No," she whispered. "I love Goodwin. I know he's not mine, but I'm in love with him. I want him. You're not mine either. You're hers."

"What?" he scoffed.

"Your heart is still with her," Juliet told him "You still want her. You missed her for 3 years. And now-she's back. Don't let her go again James."

"What?" he said softly.

"Don't let her go," she repeated. Juliet went back into the house and shut the door. He heard screaming coming from the docks. He ran toward the dock and found Kate on the ground with her arm twisted behind her.

"You don't want to do that," Sawyer said. "Let her go. We're going back to the beach. We'll never come back. We'll leave you alone. Come on Freckles. Let's go."

Ben had followed Sawyer and nodded at the man holding Kate. He shoved Kate to the ground and she scrambled to stand up.

"You're going to leave, and never come back," Ben said.

"That's the plan," Sawyer replied.

Ben smirked at Sawyer and moved out of the way. He grabbed Kate by the arm, maybe a little rougher than was necessary and they went off into the jungle together. He let go of her when he was sure that they weren't being followed. They were walking for nearly 30 minutes, before Kate stopped and sat down.

"I need to take a break," she whispered. He looked at her and sat down across from her. "You alright James?"

"I'm fine," he nodded.

"What happened?" she asked.

He didn't answer her. He looked at the ground and shook his head.

"James, what happened?" she asked.

"She didn't want me," he told her. "She doesn't love me anymore."

"Well, she was just lying to you," she replied. "There's no way-"

"She's with someone else," he said. "She's having an affair with this guy. She says she's in love with him. She wants him."

"She's lying," she shook her head. "She's only trying to make herself believe that she is over you. She wants to be over you because you were gone, but she'll never be over you."

"What?" he asked. "How do you know that?"

"How do you think?" she murmured. "She's going to try so hard to forget you. To be in love with someone else. Maybe she even will be in love with someone else, but she will never forget how she felt when you were together. The way you made her feel."

"For the past…well, since you came back," he began. "All I've wanted to do is kiss you."

She looked at him, but didn't move toward him. He shook his head.

"When Juliet broke up with me," he chuckled. "It sounds so stupid now…she told me that it was because of the way I looked at you. She broke my heart. She wanted to erase all of it. But you know what I thought of when Jack dropped that damn bomb. If I never know Juliet, I'll never know you either. I won't have time to be heartbroken. The thought of not knowing her...but the thought of not knowing you too. It killed me."

"Jack said it was all misery," she replied softly. "He said that he wanted to erase all the misery. Part of me knew he was talking about the people we lost, but then there was a second part of me that thought of the time that me and Jack were together. He thought that was all misery too. I guess he wanted a redo. He knew he screwed up."

"What did he do to you Kate?" he asked.

"He didn't do anything to me," she shook her head.

"Well obviously he did, because he told me that he lost you," Sawyer replied. "So tell me what he did."

"I couldn't make him happy," she answered. "He started drinking…taking pills. Doing God knows what else. I don't even really want to know. Anyway…it didn't really help that I was lying to him."

"So did you break up because of the drugs and alcohol and lies or because of me?" he asked.

"Maybe a little of both," she whispered. He nodded and then stood up.

"You ready to go?" he asked. She nodded slowly and stood up too. They started walking into the jungle again. Neither of them said anything else. When they were almost to the beach, Sawyer stopped walking. He looked back at Kate, who was still walking, but had slowed down.

"You coming?" he asked.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm comin'. So can I ask you something James?"

"Yeah," he whispered.

"Why did you give up so easily?" she asked. "You just let Juliet-"

"Because she doesn't love me," he scoffed. "I told you that-"

"And you really believe that!" she exclaimed. "James."

"Why do you care Kate?" he asked. "Why do you care? You shouldn't give a damn what I do."

"Because I don't want you to regret it later," she whispered.

"A few hours ago," he sighed. "You said in so many words that the reason your relationship with Jack didn't work out was because of me. So what the hell do you expect me to do with that information?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. He stepped toward her

"I asked this same question to Juliet," he whispered. He was standing in front of her. He didn't touch her. He looked into her eyes and sighed softly. "So Kate, please. Her answer was no. I need to know your answer.

"I'll give you an answer, if you give me the question," she replied. She wanted to back away from him, but she didn't.

"Never mind," he mumbled. "It's pointless."

He started walking away from her. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward her.

"Let's just stay out here a little while longer," she whispered.

"What for?" he asked.

"I'm not ready to go back yet," she answered. She leaned toward him and pressed her lips to his.

**A/N: I know this one was short. Please take a minute to give me love. ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

He kissed her back. He put his hand on the back of her neck gently. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him tighter. He backed away quickly. He walked back through the trees, toward camp. Kate followed him and sighed softly. When she arrived on the beach, he was already inside his tent. Or he was no where to be seen so Kate figured that was where he was. She didn't bother walking toward the tent. Instead she walked over to where Jack and everyone else was sitting.

Claire smiled at her and then looked over at Charlie.

"Look who's back," she said. "I remember Kate. I didn't at first. But I remember."

"What do you remember?" Kate asked.

"I left him," she sobbed. "After Charlie died, I left Aaron in the middle of the jungle. Jack told me that Sawyer found him and gave him to you to take care of. I wanted to know where he was-you took care of him?"

"He was never mine to take care of Claire," Kate shook her head. "He's yours."

"Here," Claire smiled. "Hold him. I also seem to remember you being really uncomfortable holding him, but now, you're probably an old pro. So just hold him. I'm not asking you to raise him the rest of his life. Hold him."

Claire handed her the baby. Kate looked down at him and smiled. She looked at Claire and shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"For what?" she asked. "Taking care of my baby. Making sure he was happy and healthy and nothing bad happened to him."

"But I did it because I'm selfish," Kate said.

"What?" Claire shook her head. "Kate no-"

"I could have told the truth," Kate began. "I could have given him to your mom in the first place. I could have given him up for adoption like you were going to do, but I couldn't. I didn't want to lose him."

"Kate-" Claire started.

"I can't," Kate replied quickly and handed her the baby back. Kate stood up and went to her tent, which still had the baby's crib inside. If Claire hadn't needed the crib for the baby, Kate would have thrown the crib out of her tent to break in a thousand pieces. She did kick it though. She sat down and put her head on her knees. She made an ass out of herself with Sawyer. Now he'd probably spend the rest of eternity hiding from her. She didn't know what to do about Aaron. She wanted him back. She knew it was wrong. She knew it was the most selfish thing she could ever think, but she wanted him back. She wanted him in her arms. She remembered when he would have nightmares he would come into her room and cuddle with her. She would sing to him softly until he fell asleep.

She didn't want to let herself cry. She refused to. She heard movement outside of the tent and laid down.

"Please Jack," she whispered. "Let me-"

"It ain't Jack sweetheart," Sawyer said softly. She quickly sat up and opened the tent flap.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Why are you sorry?" he asked.

"I shouldn't have kissed you," she shook her head. "It was-"

"I kissed you back," he mumbled.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered.

"Guess I shoulda called first," he replied. "I'll leave you alone then-"

"No!" she exclaimed. She grabbed his wrist and he looked down at her, slightly confused, but he sat down next to her.

"Why did you want Jack to leave you alone then?" he asked.

"I kinda freaked out with the baby," she replied. "I didn't want to talk about it."

"Oh," he whispered. "Kate-"

"I don't want to talk about it!" she exclaimed.

"That isn't what I was going to say," he said. "I was going to ask you…what would you have done if you were pregnant?"

"First of all I would have told you that," she answered. "I wouldn't have lied to you about that James."

"Ok," he began. "And?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I would have kept him. I don't know what would have happened to Aaron, but I would have kept our baby. I would have-I don't know what I would have done without you. I don't know if I would have been able to-what would you have done?"

"I don't know," he mumbled. "I would have done everything to keep you safe."

"You still would have jumped?" she asked.

"I don't know," he repeated.

"You would have wouldn't you?" she scoffed. "You would have left me all alone to take care of our baby by myself."

"Kate what the hell do you think would have happened if I had stayed?" he asked. "3 years ago…I wasn't-I wasn't a good guy Kate. I wouldn't have made a good dad. I would have been a crap dad."

"Y'know, I didn't think I was going to be a very good mom either," she said. "But you know what…I did it. I did it because I had to. I had to be a good mom for him. I did my best. Maybe I didn't do as good of a job as Claire would have, but-"

"I'm sure you were a great mom Kate," he said. "But I don't know why we're even talking about this. You weren't pregnant. You didn't have a kid. I didn't miss it."

"Yeah," she swallowed hard. "Well you brought it up."

"I know," he chuckled. "Sorry. I'll talk to you later."

"Sawyer, wait," she shook her head. "Why did you come in here?"

"I was in my tent," he sighed. "I was thinking about that damn kiss."

He leaned toward her and kissed her lips softly, then backed away.

"Do you ever think about that first kiss?" he asked. "I mean...our first kiss."

"Do you mean the one you conned me to give you or the one you gave me at the rock quarry?" she asked with a smile.

"Well, the first time we were lip to lip would have been the one in the jungle, that I 'conned'. But it wasn't so much a con Freckles," he told her.

"You told me-" she began."I told you to give me one little kiss. You're the one that lingered. You're the one who opened your mouth and let me in," he responded.

"Shut up," she scoffed and shook her head, but was still smiling. "So is that the only reason why you came in here James? To remind me about that kiss?"

"No," he shook his head. He leaned toward her and hesitated before touching her lips. They both hesitated. Their lips were barely touching. They both leaned into the kiss. Kate opened her mouth, but Sawyer didn't deepen the kiss. She laid down and he followed her, but they weren't kissing anymore.

"What?" she asked softly.

"Dammit," he sighed. "I-I already told you how badly I wanted to kiss you. But-I keep thinking-"

"Juliet," she whispered.

"I keep thinking about her," he shook his head. "I shouldn't be. It's not fair. I want to kiss you. I want to-I don't even know what else I want, but when I touch your lips. I just think about her. What we had."

"I know," she nodded. "It's ok."

"I gotta go," he got up and left the tent. Kate watched him leave and then got up and left too. She didn't follow him down the beach. She sat down outside of the tent. She looked over at Jack and everyone else. Charlie was back. She wondered why. She wondered what he remembered. Jack and Sayid tried to explain best they could about everything that had happened. Charlie got up and started toward her. She watched him coming toward her.

"So, you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she whispered.

"Jack was telling me and Claire…you raised Aaron?" Charlie asked.

"Well, hardly raised," she shook her head. "He was only 3. I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Charlie asked.

"I shouldn't have-" she began. "Is Claire mad?"

"Why would she be mad Kate?" he asked.

"Because I could have told the truth," Kate stated. "I could have told her mother the truth and given the baby to her the day we got back. I could have given him up for adoption because that's what Claire was going to do. I could have done something better."

"Like what?" he asked.

"I don't know," she chuckled softly. "I guess-"

"You adopted him Kate," Charlie whispered. "You're just as good as anyone else."

Kate smiled at him and shook her head.

"Thanks," she said. "What do you remember?"

"What?" he asked.

"What was the last thing you remember Charlie?" she asked.

"The last thing I really remember is the bloody sky lighting up and turning purple," he answered. "But, Jack and Claire tell me a lot more stuff happened. But Claire remembered. She remembered leaving Aaron in the middle of the jungle. Maybe I'll remember."

"Maybe," Kate nodded. "I hope so."

"Me too," Charlie smirked. Kate looked over at where Jack and Claire were sitting. Jack was holding the baby. Kate let out a chuckle. "He never held the baby when he was actually a baby," she said.

"It's his nephew," Charlie whispered.

"I know," Kate breathed. "After all that time, they figured it out. Well Jack did, when her mom came to his dad's funeral."

"Kate, why is all this happening again?" he asked. "I mean…I don't get it. Aaron was just born yesterday, except he wasn't. Y'know, I think Sawyer really likes you."

"What?" she asked softly.

"Sawyer," he said nodding toward Sawyer, who had obviously just been watching them. "He really likes you Kate."

"What makes you say that?" she asked with a smile.

"Just the way that he looks at you," he replied. "I mean…Jack likes you too…but Sawyer…he _likes_ you. He does everything he can to be around you too."

"So does Jack," she said, still smiling.

"Well, I guess that's true," Charlie said. "But who do you want Kate?"

She looked at Charlie, and didn't say anything.

**A/N: OK…so I'm updating quickly because I won't be able to update until Thursday or Friday. It's so so close till the premiere! And that day will be the end of the story, so please review over the next couple days. **


	8. Chapter 8

Kate was alone again. She was sitting by herself, near the water. She looked over at where Jack was sitting. He was by himself too. She figured he was thinking about Claire and the baby. She figured he couldn't handle it anymore. She felt bad. She knew that Jack wanted to do what was best for everyone. He did want to be in his sister's life. He wanted to watch Aaron grow up. Kate quickly stood up and brushed her pants off.

"Freckles!" he exclaimed. She turned back toward Sawyer's voice.

"Hey," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm sorry Kate," he shook his head. "I'm-I don't know-I'm going back to the barracks."

"What?" she repeated. "Sawyer, you can't. You promised that you wouldn't be back. You promised-they're going to kill you. And in case you didn't remember that guy who was going to kill you. Pickett…he's still alive. He's going to kill you Sawyer! Do you even care!"

"Shut up!" he exclaimed.

"Don't tell me to shut up!" she screamed. "Why would you go back there? Why would you go back when you promised you wouldn't!"

"Because I want to say goodbye to her," he whispered softly.

Shivers ran up and down her spine. She looked at him and stepped forward. She could feel herself shaking slightly.

"Don't go," she said. "Don't-don't go. Please don't go. I'm-I'm scared."

"You're not scared of anything," he shook his head.

"I don't want you to die," she whispered.

"I'll be back tomorrow," he whispered and stepped forward so they were almost touching. "I'm going to spend the night in the jungle."

"Alone?" she asked. "I don't think that's a good idea. James-please."

"Nothing's gonna happen to me," he smiled. "And if it does…you're stubborn enough. You'll make sure I live so you can give me hell about it."

She couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. He put his hand on her cheek softly. He moved his thumb over her bottom lip, but wasn't actually touching her. She closed her eyes and let out a soft breath.

"I'll be back soon," he whispered. He walked out into the jungle alone. Kate looked back to where Jack used to be sitting, but he wasn't anymore. She would have gone to find him, but she decided to leave him alone for a little while longer. She wanted to follow Sawyer. She almost did, but then walked back toward Claire and Aaron.

"Hey," Claire said. "Where'd Sawyer go? I saw the two of you talking. And then he left."

"He went back to the village," Kate whispered.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"I think he needs to think he's over Juliet," she chuckled. "At least pretend he is anyway."

"And what about you?" Claire asked.

"What do you mean?" Kate asked.

"We all see it Kate," she responded. "We all see everything."

"What are you talking about?" Kate laughed softly.

"When we first crashed," Claire began. "You and Jack-"

"Me and Jack-" Kate interrupted.

"Don't interrupt, it's rude," Claire replied, but she was smiling. Kate shut her mouth and listened. "You and Jack hung out a lot. You were-well I don't exactly know what you were feeling, but you definitely were infatuated. Possibly in love with him. And then Sawyer…I mean, no one really liked Sawyer in the beginning. Let's face it…he was a jerk. He treated people like crap and hid all the supplies from everyone. But then he changed. And you fell in love with him didn't you?"

"Claire," Kate whispered.

"You're in love with both of them," she said. "Whether or not you want to believe it. You're in love with both of them."

It wasn't a question. Kate didn't answer. But slowly she nodded and looked at Claire.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she stated. "They're both good. They both have qualities I'd look for in a man. They both have qualities that I hate. I just-I don't know what to do Claire."

"Why is Sawyer going into the jungle?" Claire asked.

"I told you, to go to the barracks. He doesn't want to-" Kate began. "He doesn't want to love Juliet anymore."

"Do you think he loves you?" Claire asked softly.

"I know he does," Kate answered. "I can feel it every time he looks at me."

"Good," Claire whispered. "Jack is jealous by the way."

"What?" Kate asked.

"Jack is jealous," she repeated. "He saw you and Sawyer talking."

"What makes you think that Jack is jealous?" Kate whispered.

"I guess the look on his face, seeing the two of you," Claire shrugged. "I mean…he'll get over it I guess, but I could definitely tell that he was jealous. It looked like the two of you were about to kiss. Not that it's anyone's business, I just thought you'd like to know how it looked. I mean…wow that sounded really bad. You're both adults, you can do whatever you want-"

"It's ok Claire," Kate nodded and smiled. "I know what you mean. Don't worry. It didn't sound bad Claire."

"I don't get it," she shrugged. "I mean, I guess he's cute. He's sweet but only when it's convenient for him."

"Are you talking about Sawyer?" Kate asked.

"Who else?" Claire smirked.

"There's more to Sawyer than meets the eye Claire," she answered. "I mean…he's not just sweet when he wants to be. He's gone through a lot in his life. Like a lot."

"I know," she whispered. "I mean…I barely know him. I don't think I've ever even had a full conversation with him. But I guess what does that say? We've been here months, and I don't even know the guy."

"Y'know," Kate shrugged. "I really don't feel like I know him anymore either. He's changed. I mean…even in the time we were on the island he changed, but in the 3 years I was away…he changed even more-"

"Claire! Kate!" Charlie exclaimed. "Look!"

They both turned around and saw Eko walking from the trees. He walked toward Charlie with a smile on his face. Kate and Claire both got up and ran toward where Charlie was standing.

"Charlie," Eko said. "Are you ready to continue building our church?"

"Eko?" Charlie asked. "Do you-do you remember?"

"I remember everything," he smiled. "And we still need to finish our church right?"

Kate furrowed her eyebrows. She watched Charlie and Eko continue over to the site of the church, which was no longer there.

"How did he remember everything already?" Kate asked.

"Maybe a little birdy told him," Claire replied with a soft smile.

* * *

Sawyer made his way through the trees. He kept thinking that someone was following him. He figured it was Kate, but every time he looked back no one was there. He heard footsteps again behind him. A twig snapped loudly and he spun around.

"Alright, come out, come out wherever you are," he said. "I know you're there."

"You have to turn back," Juliet whispered softly coming out of the trees. Sawyer shook his head and closed his mouth. "What the hell are you thinking?"

"I needed to see you," he began. "I need to tell you something."

"Well you are a fool," she shook her head. "Ben is going to kill you if he sees you talking to me. And your girlfriend too."

"Stop it," he scoffed. "She's not my girlfriend."

"But you _are_ in love with her," she replied. "I mean…tell me you're not. We always told each other the truth right James? So tell me that you don't love her. Tell me you don't feel anything for her. If you tell me that then I'll believe you."

"And you'll come with me?" Sawyer asked.

"You know I can't," she smiled. "But I will believe you. If you tell me you don't want her. I'll believe you."

"Goodbye Juliet," he whispered. "It's what I came out here to tell you. Goodbye. You don't want to be with me, fine, but I have to let you go."

"James," she shook her head.

"It doesn't mean I don't love you," he whispered and stepped forward. "It doesn't mean I don't want to be with you. But I can't spend the rest of my life worrying about never being with you."

"You never gave me a straight answer," she whispered. "Do you love he-"

"Yes!" he screamed. "But I can't love her with you looming over my head Juliet! I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to lose you. But if I'm going to in the end anyway, what's the point?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "Go. Run."

They both heard sounds coming from behind Juliet. Sawyer walked away from her and back through the trees. He went quicker when he heard Ben's voice.

When he got back to the beach, Kate was no where to be seen. Claire was sitting by herself. He didn't even see the baby, but she wasn't freaking out, so he figured the baby was fine. Sure enough he looked down the beach and saw Charlie and Hurley with the baby. He smirked and then looked over at Kate's tent. He didn't see Jack either. He walked toward Kate's tent and knocked. There was no answer. He opened the tent flap and she wasn't there.

"Jack," he whispered to himself.

"What?" Jack asked coming up behind him.

"Oh," Sawyer furrowed his eyebrows and turned around. "I thought-never mind it doesn't matter what I thought. You seen Kate?"

"No," Jack shook his head. "I was just gonna come see if she wanted anything to eat. She's not there?"

"No," Sawyer said softly and closed his eyes. He walked quickly toward Claire, with Jack right behind him.

"Claire," Jack started.

"Have you seen Kate?" Sawyer chimed in.

"No," Claire shook her head. "Why, is she ok?"

"We don't know," Jack shook his head. "She's not in her tent. You haven't seen her anywhere? Well, maybe she went to go get food."

"She's not going to be ok Jack," Sawyer said. "All the times you used to worry about little Kate getting hurt…well now's the time."

"Why do you say that?" Jack asked. "What's different-"

"When Ben took me and Kate-he threatened us," Sawyer said. "He said that we can never come back. They took her Jack. I know they did."

"Son of a bitch," Jack sighed. "So what do we do?"

"Well," he murmured. "We go get her."

Jack and Sawyer walked through the jungle together. Neither of them spoke. Sawyer went quickly. He was at least 20 paces ahead of Jack.

"Are you coming doc?" Sawyer asked. "We ain't got all day. What if something-"

"Do you really think that they would do something to her?" Jack asked. "I mean, maybe this is just a trap."

"Even still," he shrugged. "I'm not just leaving her there. You wanna turn back because you don't want to get captured, be my guess. But I ain't leaving her."

"Shut up Sawyer," Jack scoffed. "I'm not going to leave either. I just-if this is a trap-"

"Go ahead and blame me," Sawyer answered. "It'll be poetic. My fault again."

* * *

She made her way into the jungle. Not far. Just far enough from the beach to have a little privacy. She sat down by herself by a tree.

"Hello Kate," Pickett came out from behind a tree. She gasped, and before she could move he hit her with the zapper.

When she woke up she was in a house. She was in a bed. She moaned softly and rolled over. She let out a soft cough. Her hands were cuffed together.

"Mornin'," Pickett said.

"Get away from me," she stated and quickly covered up with the blankets. He smirked at her.

"Your boyfriends should be here any minute," he smirked. "We saw them in the jungle. And they're going to die. All of you are going to die."

"Get away from me!" she yelled loudly. He came toward her and she whimpered and tried to get up, but he shoved her back down. He handcuffed her hands together around one of the bars on the headboard and then put a gag in her mouth. She screamed as much as she could with the piece of cloth in her mouth. And then he covered her eyes with a blindfold. He left the room and then the house. Something about what he was saying and how he was saying it, really made her believe it. Part of her wanted Sawyer to be there because she knew he would have some quick witted comment that would make her laugh. She sobbed softly and wished that Jack and Sawyer would come rescue her, but at the same time, hoping they wouldn't get hurt.

* * *

They ducked down. Sawyer scanned the houses and started forward.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jack asked. "You can't-"

"I know," he mumbled. "But what if-"

"They knew we were going to come," Jack said. "They were waiting for us. So I say we go out there with our hands up. They're not going to shoot us if we're unarmed."

"You don't know what they're capable of," Sawyer replied.

"We all know what they're capable of Sawyer," Jack shook his head. "I guess, call me an optimist."

"Since when were you an optimist?" Sawyer asked.

Sawyer and Jack walked through the trees. Sawyer looked around the village. He looked at each door. He started walking toward one of the houses. He didn't know where they had stashed Kate. He didn't even know if Kate was at the village.

"You weren't supposed to come back James," Ben said coming toward them.

"Where's Kate?" Sawyer asked.

"You weren't supposed to come here," Ben replied again. "You were supposed to stay away. But you didn't. So there are consequences to your actions James."

"What did you do to her?" Jack asked.

"We took care of it," Ben answered. "Jack, you're free to go, but there's something that I want to show James."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Sawyer exclaimed loudly. "Where's Kate."

"She's dead James," Ben told him. Jack breathed out sharply. "Do you want to die too? Because Jack, if you don't leave right now, we will start taking people. People that you care deeply about. Your sister…your nephew. Leave right now."

"Where's Kate!" Jack exclaimed loudly.

"She's dead," Ben repeated. "She was in the jungle and we took her."

"I thought you were the good guys, why would you kill her?" Jack breathed. He looked as if he had seen a ghost. Sawyer thought he might get sick right there."If she's dead give us her body."

"Do you want Claire and Aaron to be next?" he asked. "Because that can be arrranged."

Jack stepped toward Ben, but he backed away slowly. Sawyer watched the tears in Jack's eyes. Jack started walking quicker away. Sawyer felt as if he might be sick. He dropped to his knees and looked at the ground.

"She's dead?" Sawyer whispered. "Why would you kill her? She never done nothing to you."

"Did you know when you're upset that your grammar gets really bad?" Ben asked.

"Take me to her body right the hell now!" Sawyer screamed. Ben grabbed Sawyer by the hair and dragged him to a house. He opened the door quickly and shoved him to the ground. The door slammed again and Sawyer heard the door lock. He was locked in. Locked in like an animal. Like the cages. Sawyer stayed on the ground. He put his head against the ground and put his arms against the sides of his head. He was on his knees, but he wasn't getting up. He wouldn't get up. Suddenly he heard sobbing coming from another room. He got up and wiped his own face. He realized that he hadn't even been crying. He didn't understand why he couldn't cry, but that was it…he couldn't cry. He wanted to cry for Kate, but the tears were dried up. He walked into the other room slowly. Almost afraid of who it might be.

"Hello?" he asked. He kicked the door and it opened and slammed against the wall. Kate gasped loudly and started panting.

"Kate!" Sawyer exclaimed. He ran toward her and took the blindfold off and then gag out of her mouth. "Oh my God. He told me you were dead. I thought-I thought you were dead."

He touched her cheek and she closed her eyes and moved toward his hand.

"I don't have a key," he said, touching her wrists. "But…hold on."

He started shaking the wooden dowel that her wrists were attached to. She couldn't move. The dowel was moving slightly, but was just turning. Sawyer started hitting it harder, and nothing was happening.

"Stop," she whispered. "There's no point."

"Kate," he sighed. "Are you alright? I mean, I know you're not, but-"

"I'm ok," she nodded. "You?"

"Fine, now that you're ok," he whispered.

"Pickett said that you and Jack were both coming," she said. "Where is he? Is he ok?"

"Ben sent him away," Sawyer mumbled. "Jack's fine."

"Thank God," she whispered.

"Do you want me to leave you alone?" he asked. "I mean…you can't exactly get away from me-"

"No," she shook her head. "Please…don't go away. Don't leave me."

"Ok," he nodded. "You got it."

"I think there's only one bed," she said, turning a slight shade of pink.

"I ain't tired," he shook his head. "I'm fine here on the floor."

"James," she whispered. "I'm glad you're ok."

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Glad you're ok too."

"Did you get to talk to Juliet?" she asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"And?" she whispered.

"Y'know…you're insufferable," he shook his head.

"Thanks a lot," she scoffed, but smiled. "I just wanted to know if you were ok. If you talked to her and what she said. What you said. If you-"

"I let her go," he whispered. "But it might have been a mistake because I'll never be good enough for you. I'll never be-"

"What?" she asked. "James."

"I've been through a lot," he shook his head. "Made a lot of mistakes. Done things that you wouldn't-you would never even remotely have any feelings for me if you knew. So I'm not going to tell you. But there are things I regret. All the women and crap I've done. Only one thing I've ever been really sure of. And that's you-"

"Please," she scoffed.

"Let me finish," he began. "I have always been sure of my love of you. I loved Juliet too, but it didn't last. When you came back I realized how much I still loved you. I didn't know what to do. And I'm not telling you all this because I know I'll never have you or because I want you to return any kind of sentiment. I just thought you should know. I love who you are Kate. I love everything about you. I even love the fact that you're insufferable."

"Come here," she whispered.

"No," he shook his head.

"I can't move," she told him. "So please…please. Come over here."

He hesitated, but then moved toward her. He leaned over her and she leaned up as best she could to kiss him. Her hands were still attached to the bed, which made it hard for her to kiss him the way she wanted to, but he kissed her back. He held his hands against hers and continued to kiss her softly.

"James," she whispered softly into his ear. "I want you. Make love to me."

"With your hands all tied up?" he asked with a soft chuckle.

"Could be kinda hot," she chuckled. He ran his hands gently over her wrists where the handcuffs were. He knew it had to be incredibly uncomfortable.

"You don't want to do this," he whispered.

"Yes," she nodded. "Yes I do."

"Well, we can wait until your hands aren't-"

She leaned up and kissed his lips again. He stopped talking and then kissed her neck softly. She let out a soft breath. He ran his hands down her arms. He looked at her and stopped.

"Kate," he whispered. They both moved quickly. The bed moved and wood on the headboard cracked. Kate looked at him and laughed softly. They started moving faster and the dowel broke in half. Kate's hands were mostly free, even though they were still cuffed together. She laughed softly and lifted her arms over his head and pulled him closer. He kissed her softly and then rolled off of her. She rolled toward him and cuddled against his chest.

"Did we just break the bed?" she asked.

"I think we did," he laughed softly. He held her in his arms and ran his hand over the back of her head. He kissed the top of her head. She curled up on his chest.

"I love you," she said softly.

**A/N: Please please please review!!!!**


	9. Chapter 9

Sawyer looked at her and smiled. He kissed her lips softly and slowly. He ran his hands through her hair. She kissed his cheek and then backed away and looked at him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. She put her head against his shoulder.

"I'm not tired," she whispered.

"Really?" he asked. "You're gonna fall asleep right now."

"Uh uh," she shook her head. "I want to stay up. Do you remember back, like a month after we crashed…and we went to find Ethan? He was threatening to kill us all. He wanted Claire."

"Yeah," he nodded.

"You were...," she laughed and shook her head. "Jack didn't want me to come with you guys…but you gave me a gun. Why'd you give me a gun?"

"Because I wanted you to come," he shrugged. "I knew you wanted to come. No point on leaving you behind. Besides, Jack said it was stupid to go out without a gun, and somethin' told me you were gonna follow us anyway."

"You're right about that," she laughed softly. "So we're locked in here right? No where to go."

"I guess," he replied.

"You guess?" Kate asked. "What do you mean you guess? You mean, you didn't try to leave?"

"Ben told me you were dead," he whispered. "He shoved me to the ground. I thought you were dead. I didn't want to move. But then I heard crying. So I forced myself to get up and investigate it. I found you in here all tied up, and…well you know the rest. Did they hurt you?"

"No," she shook her head. "My wrists are still-"

He looked at her wrists and kissed them softly. She looked at him and smiled.

"Have you ever worn handcuffs?" she asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Of course I have. In Australia I did. What are you tryin' to do start a little game of 'I Never'?"

"Do you think there's any liquor in this house?" she asked.

"Dunno," he shrugged. "We can go look."

He pulled on his boxers and went to find his shirt. He helped her stand up and she looked at him.

"Will you help me put my pants on?" she asked, referring to the handcuffs.

"Nope," he shook his head. He started walking away from him. Kate chased him as best she could with her hands tied together. She bumped into him and knocked him over. He reached up and touched her hair. She smiled at him and got up off of him. Kate sat down on the couch and Sawyer went into the kitchen. She heard him opening the cupboards looking for the bottle of liquor. He let out a call of victory and came in holding a bottle that was half full. He set the bottle down in front of her. She stared at it, but didn't move.

"I never been engaged to a doctor," Sawyer whispered.

"You and Juliet-" she started.

"Me and Juliet weren't engaged," he shook his head.

"OK," she nodded. She didn't go to pick the bottle up. He didn't either.

"Screw this," he replied. "I don't need a bottle of liquor to get to know you."

"Thank you," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have-"

"It's ok," she said. "Don't worry about it."

They spent the morning talking. Neither of them wanted to talk about Jack or Juliet. They both heard loud commotion coming from outside. Gun shots. Screaming. Shouting. Sawyer got up and ran to the window. Kate followed him. They watched the gun fight. Eko and Sayid were there with guns. Suddenly Sawyer looked over and saw Juliet fall to the ground. She had gotten caught in the crossfire. The gunshots stopped.

"Juliet!" Sawyer yelled. He put his fist through the window. Kate saw the blood. His hand had splinters of glass sticking out of it, but she knew he didn't care. He climbed out of the window and ran toward Juliet. He ran his hand over her forehead.

"Juliet," he whispered.

"James," she replied.

"Jack!" he exclaimed. "Jack!"

Jack ran toward them and bent down next to Juliet on the other side of her. He started looking at her.

"Jack," Juliet shook her head. "Don't. Don't. I can't breathe."

She started breathing heavily. Jack didn't listen to Juliet, and continued to try to help her. The blood was pouring out. She coughed up blood. Sawyer's eyes went wide.

"Jack," he said. "Don't let her die."

"I can't-I can't see," he said. He ripped open her shirt to try and find the bullet wound, but there was too much blood. She closed her eyes and stopped coughing.

"No," Sawyer whispered. He pulled Juliet toward him and held her in his arms. She didn't move. She didn't breathe.

Sawyer sat, holding Juliet in his arms for an hour and a half. Jack and Kate and everyone else watched him. Even Ben stood watching.

"We have to bury her," Sawyer whispered. "I'll do it."

"No," Ben said. "You're going to leave her here, and then all of you are going to leave. And I swear to God James, if you come back, this time we will kill Kate. You stay on your end of the island and we'll stay here. Leave right now."

"No," Sawyer shook his head. "Hell no. I'm not leaving." "Yes you are," Ben said.

"No I'm not!" Sawyer yelled loudly. Kate and Jack dragged Sawyer away from Ben. He fought against them, but they dragged him into the jungle and held him back.

"Stop!" Kate exclaimed. "James, stop!"

"It's our fault," he shook his head. "It's my fault. She's dead because of me. It's my fault."

"James, it's not your fault," she whispered. "I promise you, it's not your fault."

"Let's just get back to the beach," Jack said.

"I can't," Sawyer shook his head. "Ya'll go. I'm staying here."

"I'm not leaving him out here alone," Kate told Jack mostly.

"We will go, you stay here if you want to," Eko answered. Sayid nodded and looked at Jack.

"I don't think-" Jack started. "Kate, they told us to leave."

"I know," she whispered. "But how can we just leave James here. I'm not leaving him here."

"Ok," he nodded. "Then we'll wait."

Sawyer sat by himself. He wouldn't let Kate touch him, but she was sitting next to him. His hand looked like it was painful. Jack looked at it. He pulled the glass out of it, and ripped a piece of shirt for him to wrap around it.

"I wasn't engaged to her Kate," Sawyer whispered.

"You already told me that," she swallowed.

"We were married," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

"What?" Jack asked. "You were married. Like actually married. How did you get married on an island?"

"There was a minister," Sawyer replied. "One of the Dharma men…he was ordained. So we got married."

Kate hadn't said anything. She looked at her feet. She sighed deeply and got up. She walked over to the other end of the clearing. She didn't look at Sawyer. Jack stood up and walked toward her.

"Kate-" he began.

"Don't," she whispered and shook her head.

They were only sitting alone for 20 more minutes, before Sawyer stood up and started walking. Kate went followed him, but stayed as far back as she could. Jack walked with her. He looked over at her and sighed softly.

"Kate, what happened?" he asked.

"Nothing," she whispered. "I thought-never mind. I just want to get back to the beach."

"You're in love with him," he said. "It hurts doesn't it?"

"What?" she asked.

"Finding out that the person you're in love with is in love with someone else," he stated.

"Jack," she shook her head.

"It's ok Kate," he whispered. "It's fine."

"He was married to her," Kate said. "Why didn't he tell me before? Why didn't he tell me?"

"I don't know," Jack whispered.

"They weren't wearing rings," she said. "Neither of them were wearing rings, so why-how is-I really hate this."

When they got back to the beach, Sawyer went into his tent. Kate started to her own tent, but then went quickly to Sawyer's. She pulled the tent flap back and crossed her arms. She sighed sharply and shook her head.

"Why didn't you tell me before-" she began.

"Because I didn't know how I was supposed to tell you Kate," he scoffed. "I'm supposed to stay faithful to my wife. She was alive and she was cheating on me in so many words. I mean…she was with that damn guy…I was so mad. I was so mad and I just wanted to stop loving her. I wanted to hate her. But I couldn't. And when you came back…I was supposed to be over you. I'm not supposed to be attracted to someone else. I'm not supposed to have feelings for anyone except for Juliet. When you said that you loved me what was that?"

"It was the truth James," she answered. He took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I shouldn't have-I love you too Freckles. I want you. I just can't have you."

"What do you mean you can't have me?" she asked.

"My wife just died Kate," he shook his head. "I mean…not my girlfriend or my fiancée or the woman that I love…she was my wife. And I didn't even get to bury her."

"I'm so sorry," she whispered.

"I had to watch her die twice Kate, and you know what I keep thinking about?" he asked.

"No," she whispered.

"I keep thinking about you," he shook his head. "I mean, what the hell is wrong with me!"

"Nothing," she answered.

"I'm an asshole," he sighed. "I want to be with you more than anything, but I'm not ready."

"Ok," she nodded. "I'll see you around then."

She got up and left the tent.

That night Kate was sitting by herself down the beach. She was away from everyone else. She was all the way down the beach. She couldn't even see their camp. She thought about what Sawyer said. She knew how he felt. He still felt love for Juliet, and now she was dead. But Kate thought they were actually getting somewhere. She had finally gotten up enough courage to tell him she loved him. And he told her he loved her too. She didn't know what to do. She would wait for him. The timing was never right. The timing with Tom was never right. She was so in love with him, but the timing was off, and then he died. She loved Kevin too, but the timing was off there too. The timing with Jack had been pretty much perfect, but the circumstances were off. He walked toward her and sat down next to her.

"For some reason…I just can't stay away from you," he sighed sharply.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I sorta know the feeling James. I have always tried so hard to just stay away from you and not love you or want you…but-"

"For 3 years I tried to forget you Kate," he told her. "I thought if I told her and myself that I was over her, that I would be."

"But you're not," she replied.

"Well that's the whole thing," he sighed. "We were in that damn house a mere 3 hours and it almost felt-it felt-"

"Comfortable," she finished his sentence.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I don't know, it was almost like…I know that you and me were never-right, but maybe-never mind."

"This year I was supposed to be married with 9 kids," she whispered.

"What?" he asked.

"It's stupid, just something I was thinking about when you came over," she responded.

"What?" he repeated. "I mean…what were you thinking about?"

"When I was 10," she began. "My best friend in the world…he had big plans for us. We were supposed to get married and have 9 kids. I'm supposed to be-I dunno. I'm supposed to be in jail. I'm not supposed to be with anyone."

"What if you're wrong?" he asked softly. He leaned forward and kissed her lips. She leaned forward too and wrapped her arms around him.

"So what are we going to do?" Kate whispered. He leaned forward and kissed her again. He kissed her on the lips and then moved to her neck. She kissed him and laid down in the sand. He leaned over her but then stopped kissing her.

"I've waited so long," he said. "Just to see your face again."

"James," she whispered softly. She leaned up and kissed him. He ran his hands down her body. They spent the night out side of the tent. When Kate woke up in the morning, Sawyer's arm was around her hip. But he wasn't holding her tightly. She didn't feel confined. She rolled over in his arms and kissed the side of his face. He let out a breath and mumbled in his sleep.

"James," she whispered. "Wake up James."

"Hmm?" he asked and let go of her and rolled over so his back was to her. She put her hand on his back . He rolled over and looked at her.

"Mornin'," she said.

"Oh, that was smart," he groaned and sat up. "Sleeping on the sand all night."

"Better than the ground or the cement slabs at the cages," she replied.

"Yeah," he chuckled. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. "You wanna go back?"

"Sure," she whispered.

They made their way to the beach and everyone was gathered.

"Hey guys!" Jack exclaimed. "Libby and Ana Lucia are back."

"What?" Kate said.

"They came through the trees. They both remember," Jack said.

**3 Weeks Later**

Throughout the next 3 weeks, Shannon and Boone both came back. Everyone had gotten used to all their dead friends coming through the trees. It seemed to happen every other day. But now they were back to the start. To how it was when the plane first crashed.

It was a well known fact that Sawyer and Kate were sharing a tent. Kate hadn't wanted to make it too obvious so she kept her stuff in her tent, but would go to Sawyer's to sleep.

She was walking from her tent to Sawyer's. Jack walked toward her and she smiled weakly.

"Kate," he began. "You don't have to hide all this from everyone. I don't care…I mean-that came out wrong. I didn't mean-Kate I know you love him. You should be with him. You should be there for him. He needs someone right now. Who better?"

She let out a breathy laugh and shook her head.

"Jack," she started. "I-I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he shook his head. He walked away and Kate continued to the tent. She ducked inside and looked at Sawyer. Sawyer looked up from his book.

"You alright?" he whispered.

"Fine," she smiled and laid down next to him. She put her head on his shoulder.

"Alright," he cleared his throat. "Let's keep reading. Where were we?"

"Chapter 8," she answered. She kept her head against his chest and he started reading. Half way through the chapter, Kate leaned forward and kissed him.

"Would you marry me?" she whispered.

"What?" he asked with a soft laugh. "Was that a proposal?"

"No," she smiled and licked her lips. "It was just a question. Would you? I mean…if we were-"

"Kate, I love you," he whispered softly. He kissed her softly. He rolled over on top of her and she gasped softly. He kissed her deeper and she tried to breathe, but neither of them stopped.

**1 And a Half Weeks Later**

Kate was in the water washing her arms and legs off. She didn't mind living on the island, aside from missing a hot shower. She was 3 weeks late for her period, but she hadn't told anyone. She was afraid to tell Sawyer and she knew she should tell him first. She looked out into the water. The water was so endless. She always loved the water. She was never afraid. Not very many things scared her. The only thing she ever let get in the way of her life, was the fear of commitment. She also knew that was stupid. But now, she knew she was pregnant. It wasn't just a few days. It was 3 weeks. Which meant that she was nearly a month pregnant. She knew she was going to have to tell Sawyer soon. If she waited too long, he might start to notice before she had a chance to tell him. She heard Claire coming up behind her with the baby. The baby was 2 months old. Claire never let him out of her sight.

"Hey Claire," Kate said. "How's Aaron?"

"He's good," Claire smiled. "I love him so much Kate. You can't imagine it. Well I suppose you can since you were his mommy too kinda, but-there's no better feeling in the world than holding your baby in your arms knowing that he's part of you."

"Why are you saying all this?" she asked.

"Because," she began. "You're acting exactly like I did."

"I'm acting exactly like you, when what?" Kate asked. "I don't get it."

"When I first found out I was pregnant," she replied. "Well…I actually sorta freaked out first, and then I sorta. I dunno. You just-you have this. So are you? Pregnant?"

"Don't tell Sawyer," Kate whispered. "I haven't told him yet. I'm just-I'm trying to figure out what to tell him."

"How about get ready to be a daddy," Claire suggested.

"I wanna tell him, not kill him," Kate chuckled.

"Well, you should tell him, before someone else does," Claire said.

"No one else knows," she answered. "So unless you tell him-"

"Well, I'm pretty sure that Jack sees the signs," she replied.

"I don't have morning sickness, so I don't see how Jack would know anything, unless you told him that you suspected-" Kate started.

"I didn't tell him anything Kate," she shook her head. "So maybe he doesn't know. But you should tell Sawyer soon. It's not fair to keep it from him. Who knows, maybe he'll be really happy and excited."

"Or maybe he'll freak out and leave me," she whispered.

"He won't," Claire shook her head. "I have faith. He'll be fine."

Kate nodded. She walked over to where Sawyer was on the beach. He was walking toward her with a bowl of oatmeal. He handed it to her and she smiled.

"Thanks," she said.

"You need to keep your energy, eatin' for two an' all." he replied.

"What?" she asked.

"You're pregnant right? Havin' a baby? Knocked up? Eating for two?" he asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Were you gonna tell me?" he scoffed. "Or were you just gonna wait until the baby was born?"

"I was-" she sighed and shook her head. "I was going to tell you. I just-"

"Forget it," he said. He walked away, leaving her standing alone. She ate the oatmeal by herself. She wasn't hungry, but she knew she should eat something. Jack walked toward her and sat down.

"Hey," he said. "Where's Sawyer?"

"We got into a fight," she answered. "I don't really know where he is. I guess his tent."

"You mean your tent," he said.

"Not my tent," she shrugged. "I'm still keeping my stuff in my own tent."

"Was that what the fight was about?" he asked. "You moving in with him?"

"Not exactly," she whispered. "Jack, no offense, I don't really feel like talking about it."

"Yeah," he sighed. "I figured."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she scoffed.

"It means, that whenever anything bad happens, you never want to talk," he stated.

"Neither do you!" she exclaimed. "You just drink, so leave me the hell alone."

She stood up and walked away from him. She went to her tent and ducked inside. Sawyer was there. She gasped loudly and then closed her eyes.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

"Well, I knew you weren't gonna go to my tent tonight," he answered. "So I decided to come here. I didn't want to sleep alone tonight."

She sat down next to him and let out a soft laugh.

"It's stupid to fight," he sighed. "Might as well practice being all lovey dovey now huh? The baby ain't gonna wanna be around us if we're fighting all the time."

"I wanted to tell you," she whispered. "I just didn't know what to say."

"How about "Get ready to be a daddy"?" he asked.

"That's what Claire said," she laughed again.

"I know, I heard her," he replied.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "James, I was just scared. I am scared. I didn't know how you would react. What would you have said."

"I dunno," he mumbled. "I still don't know."

"Me neither," she shook her head.

"Come here," he whispered. He opened his arms and she leaned toward him. He wrapped his arms around her and she wrapped hers around him. He ran his hand over her head.

"We got 9 months to figure it out," she said softly. "Maybe a little less."

"Well," he murmured. "You gotta teach me."

"What," she sniffled and looked at him.

"You already did this once," he said, running his hand gently over her cheek. "You know what to do. I'm just-I haven't ever taken care of anybody but myself."

"Well, you've taken care of me," she told him. "You're gonna be a good daddy James. You'll know what to do as soon as the baby is born. It's instinct James. You'll know."

"But what if I don't," he said. "What if you let me hold the baby and I drop it?"

"James," she shook her head. "You're not going to drop the baby."

"I nearly dropped Aaron when Claire made me hold him," he answered. "I'm not going to be a good dad Kate. I'm just-never mind, it's stupid.

"You 'nearly' dropped Aaron?" she asked.

"Yeah," he murmured. "I was just really nervous."

"There you go," she answered. "You were nervous. It's different. James, you're going to be fine."

"You said you were scared Kate, so how do you expect me not to be scared too," he replied.

"I'm not so scared anymore," she whispered. "Now that you know, and you're not going to leave me."

"Where am I goin' Kate?" he asked. "Do you know of a way off the island that I don't?"

"The sub," she answered with a slight smile. Neither of them said anything else.

* * *

The next morning when Kate woke up, Sawyer was already gone. Usually she would wake up way before he did. She didn't know what time it was. She left the tent. Claire was coming toward her. She didn't have the baby. Kate looked at her and smiled.

"So you told him right?" Claire asked.

"Well, I think he heard us talking," Kate answered. "Maybe he knew before. I'm just glad he knows."

"And he's not mad?" she asked.

"No," Kate shook her head.

"Come on and follow me, I wanna show you something," Claire said. Kate walked with Claire down the beach. They were walked for a long time. Kate wondered where the baby was. She hadn't seen anyone else on the beach either. Claire made excuses for all of them. Jack and Sayid were hunting. Charlie was taking care of the baby. And Sawyer had gone into the jungle a little while ago. , which didn't exactly worry Kate, but she was wondering where Claire was taking her. They were walking until they got to the rock cliffs. When they got there Sawyer was standing with Eko. Kate furrowed her eyebrows.

"What's going on?" Kate asked.

"Well," Sawyer began. "Figured we might as well make it official."

"What?" she breathed. He stepped toward her and put his hands on her cheeks.

"You don't get it," he said.

"What?" she asked again, this time with tears coming into her eyes.

"You don't understand how much," he shook his head and sighed softly. "You don't get how much I love you Kate. I love you. I've loved you for-well, a long time."

"James," she shook her head and he leaned forward and kissed her lips softly and slowly.

"When people grow up," he sighed. "They get married, have babies. You asked me a couple weeks ago if I would marry you. Not a real romantic proposal."

She chuckled softly and continued to look at him.

"So," he sighed. "Maybe we get married and have babies. Maybe not. Remember when Bernie said all that matters is being together?"

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Well," he sighed. "It is all that matters Kate. All that matters is that we're together. I don't need to marry you."

"Like this is so much more romantic than mine," she scoffed at him.

"I don't need to Freckles," he began. "But I want to. I wanna marry you. Make it official."

Kate smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him. She kissed him and backed away again.

"Yes," she nodded.

**A/N: Please please review. I'm gonna do one more chapter and then it'll be the end of my story and the start of the new season!!!**


	11. Chapter 11

Sawyer pulled her toward him and kissed her softly. He took her by the hand and they walked toward Eko. Claire and everyone else had made their way toward them. Charlie was there with Aaron. Kate looked down the beach and saw Jack sitting by himself. He was digging a stick into the sand. She didn't know if he was writing something or not. She looked at him and then back at Sawyer.

"You ready?" Claire asked. She handed Kate a bouquet of flowers. Kate smiled wider and shook her head. She looked back at Sawyer and he took her by the hand.

"You're crazy," she shook her head.

"I know," he smirked. Eko started speaking. It wasn't a traditional wedding. Kate was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She didn't feel like a bride and didn't feel glamorous at all. But she had once had a big wedding with a white dress, and it didn't last. She looked back at Jack just once. He wasn't looking at the wedding. He got up and put the stick he was playing with down. He walked back down the beach to their camp.

They were married. Everyone clapped. Everyone hugged Sawyer and Kate. They dispersed down the beach, leaving Kate and Sawyer alone again. She smiled at him and looked down at the rings that Sayid and Eko had made. Kate suspected they just used scrap metal from the plane. She knew that the rings would probably turn their fingers green, but she didn't care. She sighed and sat down on the rocks.

Sawyer sat down next to her and smiled."We can probably go back to the camp, it'd be more comfortable than here," he said.

"I don't care," she shook her head. "I just want to be here with you. It's all that matters remember?"

He nodded and smiled again.

"So where are we going on our honeymoon?" she asked.

"Well baby, I already got the best tent on the beach," he said. "I don't think we need to go anywhere. We're on a beautiful island. Why do we need to go anywhere?"

"We don't," she shook her head and chuckled again. She kissed his lips softly and then rested her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her. He started around her shoulders, and then moved his hand down to her stomach. She put her hands on top of his.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too Freckles," he told her.

They walked back to the beach together. He was holding her hand. She was walking closely to him. She saw Jack. He was sitting in the sand, just like at the wedding. This time he was sifting through the sand.

"I have to-" she began.

"Come on Kate," he scoffed. "We just got married, don't let the doc ruin it."

"He's not," she shook her head and cupped his face. She kissed him on the lips. "I'll be right back. I promise. Wait in the tent."

"You think I'm gonna just let you-" he began.

"Don't finish that sentence James," she interrupted. "And yeah, you're gonna let me go talk to him. I just want to talk to him. I'll be in the tent in a minute."

"We haven't been married even 2 hours Kate," he whispered.

"At a normal wedding James," she began. "You have to talk to all your guests. You don't spend every second-"

"Well this ain't a normal wedding Kate," he interrupted.

"You're really not going to let me go talk to him?" she asked. "Well, you know I'm gonna do whatever I want, so might as well, just get over it now James."

She walked over to Jack and sat down next to him. He didn't look up, but he didn't move. She sighed softly and shook her head.

"You didn't come to the wedding," she whispered.

"Did you really expect me to?" he murmured.

"No," she sighed. "I guess not. Jack I'm sorry-"

"You're not sorry," he scoffed.

"I came over to talk to you and because of it, I just had my first fight with my husband," she told him. "So at least have the decency to look at me."

He looked up at her and sighed softly.

"It was supposed to be us Kate," he said. "We were the ones that were supposed to get married. Not you and Sawyer."

"Well, tough," she replied, standing up. "Jack, I love him. And I'm having a baby. What did you expect me to do…have his baby, and then come running back to you? I'm sorry that I hurt you, but I don't love you. Not like I love Sawyer. I hope we can still be friends."

She got up and walked back to Sawyer's tent. Now her tent too. She ducked inside. Sawyer was sitting on the sand reading. She sat down next to him.

"I'm back," she whispered.

"I see that," he mumbled.

"James-" she started.

"I don't want to fight," he shook his head. "Or argue with you, so let's just drop it. How'd things go with the doc?"

"I thought you wanted to drop it," she answered.

"Never mind," he mumbled.

"He's mad at me," she replied. "Right now, he doesn't want anything to do with me."

He let out a soft laugh, and then leaned forward and kissed her. The spent the rest of the day and night in the tent.

She was laying in his arms and he was stroking her hair.

"So, Mrs. Ford, what's next?" he asked softly.

"Hmm," she started and chuckled softly. "I don't know Mr. Ford. We have a baby I guess…well, in 9 months or so."

**4 Months Later**

Kate was in the tent. She was supposed to be taking a nap. Jack and Sawyer had both agreed that she needed her rest. Every day they made her stay in the tent for at least an hour. It was weird having them actually agreeing on something. She didn't want to sleep, so most of the time she didn't. She would lay in the bed and stare at the side of the tent. Then when she was sure that Sawyer and Jack would leave her alone, she would read. And if she heard either of them outside of the tent she would hide the book, and close her eyes.

Sawyer ducked into the tent. She rolled over and looked at him.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" he asked. "You need your sleep Kate."

"Because I don't want to sleep," she answered. "I'm less than 5 months pregnant-"

"Well that's when pregnant women are supposed to die Kate," he replied. "You're supposed to die. Any day now-"

"I'm supposed to die?" she scoffed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm expecting it," he responded. "Any day, I'm expecting to come in here, and find you dead."

"I'm not going to die," she whispered. "You and Jack would never let that happen."

"Well, it's not really under our control, that's why we want you to rest," he said. "Kate, if anything ever happened to you, or that baby…I'd never forgive myself."

"It wouldn't be your fault," she replied. "James, none of this is your fault-"

"I don't want to take any chances," he stated. "No traipsing in the jungle or goin' on your little adventures Freckles. And Jack agrees with me. Jack wants to keep you safe too. Why can't you just-"

"Well, I'm not tired," she said. "I won't go on any treks in the jungle, but just let me at least sit on the beach. I'm not going to sleep if you make me stay in here. I sleep all night. You guys are making me sleep on a damn airplane seat. I mean, I'm barely showing. When I'm about ready to pop, then you can worry, but for now, please just stop worrying so much. It's not going to help me if you worry."

"Fine," he murmured.

"Besides, Claire sat outside every day till the day she had Aaron," she answered. "She didn't have anyone telling her what to do."

"Ok," he sighed. "Fine. Let's go outside."

He helped her stand and she smiled at him. They sat outside the tent in the sand. She looked down the beach at where Jack was sitting. He didn't look happy. She looked at Sawyer and leaned toward him. He shook his head and held out his hand to stop her.

"What?" she asked.

"Go talk to him," he mumbled.

"What?" she repeated.

"I know you're itchin' to go talk to him," he answered. "So just go ahead. I'll be here waitin' when you come back."

"I'll be right back," she whispered. She leaned forward and kissed his lips. He started backing away and she kissed him deeper. He mumbled softly and then backed away.

"Hmm," he said softly. "You _are_ coming back right?"

She chuckled and nodded. She stood up and walked toward where Jack was sitting. Jack looked at her and sighed deeply, but didn't say anything. She sighed too and sat down.

"You alright?" she whispered.

"I'm fine Kate," he answered. "You feeling ok?"

"Yes," she nodded. "But I don't believe you."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "Why wouldn't you believe me? I'm fine Kate."

"You look pissed," she answered.

"Well, I'm not too happy that Sawyer went to wake you up," he said. "I thought we had a deal."

"Well," she replied. "Jack, I'm a big girl. I wasn't sleeping anyway. If I have to rest, I'd rather rest outside in the sun. Watching the waves. So me and Sawyer made a deal too. I've been sleeping just fine at night."

"Why'd you come over here Kate?" he asked. "Just to tell me to leave you alone?"

"No," she said. "Jack, we were friends. I mean weren't we."

"Friends," he chuckled softly. "Yeah, sure."

"Well, I thought we were," she answered. "If we're not then I guess it's news to me. You have been trying to keep me safe. You still care about me."

"Of course I do," he murmured. "I'll always care about you Kate."

"Well, I'll always care about you too," she answered. "So I don't know what you're so mad about. Sawyer won't let anything bad happen to me, just like you won't let anything happen to me either. Are you really mad because I'm not sleeping? Or is it something else."

"I just-I miss you," he whispered. "I want to be with you. I know it's not possible, but-I guess I'm just still jealous as hell."

"Sorry," she shook her head. She started crying softly. "I don't-I don't want to hurt you for anything in the world Jack. I know…we were supposed to get married. We were supposed to have babies, but we didn't. I can't do anything about it Jack. I can't change anything. And I can't change the fact that I'm in love with James. I hope you can forgive me someday Jack. Hopefully before the baby is born, because I don't want to try to give birth by myself."

"I do forgive you Kate," he sighed. "I don't want anything bad happening to you. I guess it just still hurts that you're with him. It's probably going to hurt the rest of my life."

**3 Months Later**

Kate was walking on the beach by herself. She often went on walks but stayed within the sights of the camp. Sawyer sometimes went with her, but most of the time he stayed at the tent. He didn't want Kate taking such long walks anymore, but she insisted that she was fine. She walked and let the waves splash up her feet. She got a sharp pain in her stomach and groaned.

"No," she whispered. "Stop it. Damn baby."

The sharp pain hit again.

"Ok, I'm sorry," she sighed. "You're not a damn baby, now quit it. Just wait till I get back to-"

She collapsed to her knees. She started crawling up the beach so that she wasn't in the water. She breathed out sharply.

"No," she whispered. "Don't do this. Not right now. Please."

Sawyer got up from his chair. He walked over to where Jack was sitting. Jack had gotten back to his normal self now. He wasn't mad at Kate anymore. He gave her examinations and told her everything with the baby would be alright.

"Jack," Sawyer started. "Kate's been gone-she's been gone for almost an hour."

"I'm sure she's fine Sawyer," he said. "I thought that you were letting Kate-"

"Hold up," he shook his head. "Kate goes on her walk once a day, you said it'd be fine, that it was safe."

"Sawyer, she'll be fine," Jack answered. They both turned in the direction of the screaming. Sawyer quickly started running. Jack grabbed his bag of medical supplies before running after Sawyer. "Sawyer!" Kate exclaimed when she saw him. He nearly tripped and fell when he reached her. He knelt down next to her and ran his hand over her forehead.

"What happened?" he whispered. "Kate. Are you-"

"I'm in labor," she answered. "I'm going into labor."

"Jack's comin'," he said. "I don't-"

"Sawyer," she whispered. "I can't do this. I can't have this baby."

"Yes you can," he said. "You can do anything. You can do anything."

Jack caught up and knelt down next to Kate.

"Kate," he whispered. "Are you alright?"

"No," she sobbed. "Jack. I can't-this isn't going to work. I'll never-I'll be bad at it."

"Bad at what?" Jack whispered.

"Being a mom," she answered.

"You weren't though," Jack smiled. He took Kate's hand and Sawyer sighed sharply, but didn't say anything. "You were a great mom Kate. You can do this. And it's not too early. It's only about a week early. The baby should be healthy and fine."

"Should be?" Sawyer asked.

"Jack," she whispered. "Don't let the baby die. Don't let-please."

"Kate, stop," Jack shook his head. "You're going to be fine."

"What do I do?" Sawyer asked.

"Stay out of my way," Jack murmured. He started pressing against Kate's belly gently. She breathed in sharply and shook her head.

"Jack-" she began.

"Shh," he shook his head.

"James, don't leave me," she whispered.

"I ain't going anywhere Sweetcheeks," he answered softly. He took her hand in his and squeezed it softly. "Everything's gonna be alright Freckles. The doc is gonna fix you up."

"Ok," Jack sighed. "Kate, you gotta push."

"No no no," she shook her head. "Jack I can't."

"Yes you can," he replied. "Kate, you gotta push. You're 10 centimeters dilated, and if you don't push that you and the baby are in danger. So please. Push Kate."

"Freckles, just listen to him," Sawyer answered, he furrowed his eyebrows and ran his hand over her forehead. "Sweetheart, Jack wouldn't hurt you or the baby…not while I'm sittin' right here."

She sniffled and nodded. She pushed until Jack said to stop. She shook her head and looked up at Sawyer.

"James," she whispered.

"It's ok," he said. "Don't worry Kate. Everything-"

"Kate, you gotta push again," Jack said. She pushed and Jack continued to tell her to push. "Ok. Stop Kate. Just one more big one."

She squeezed Sawyer's hand and pushed. She heard the baby crying and laid back. Sawyer looked down at Kate. He let out a breath.

"Kate," he began. "You did it. You-"

"Dammit," Jack whispered softly.

"What's wrong?" Sawyer asked. Kate didn't seem to notice.

"Let me see the baby," she whispered. "I wanna see him."

"Her," Jack answered. He wrapped the baby up and handed her the baby. He sighed deeply and looked at Sawyer.

"Doc," Sawyer said. "What's-"

"Do you wanna hold her?" Kate asked softly. Sawyer looked down at Kate and sighed softly. He looked at the baby but didn't take her from Kate's arms. Jack was working, but he continued to make sounds that didn't set well with Sawyer. Sawyer stood up and grabbed Jack's arm.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"What's going on doc," Sawyer whispered softly. "Tell me."

"There's a lot of blood," he answered softly. "If I can't stop the bleeding, she's going to bleed out."

"Well, you gotta fix it," Sawyer said. "Fix her."

"That's what I'm gonna do," Jack replied. "If you get out of my way and let me do my job."

Sawyer sat down again, next to Kate and sighed deeply.

"Sawyer, take the baby from Kate," Jack said. Sawyer nodded weakly and picked up the baby from Kate's arms.

"Sawyer," Kate whispered. "I'm scared."

"I know," Sawyer said softly. He ran his hand over Kate's cheek and then looked at the baby. The baby was sleeping already. "We have to get her up the beach," Jack stated. He picked Kate up and carried her back to the beach. Sawyer walked slowly behind him, carrying the baby. Jack set Kate down in the medical tent and Sawyer followed him.

"Kate," Sawyer whispered.

"Sawyer, you can't be in here," Jack said.

"Don't tell me what I can't do," Sawyer murmured. "I'm staying, she's my wife-"

"At a hospital-" Jack began.

"We ain't in a hospital Doc," Sawyer argued. "And I ain't leaving her. I told her I wouldn't leave her side."

He sat with the baby while Jack worked. He looked down at Kate who was now sleeping.

"Save her," Sawyer whispered, mostly to himself, and not loud enough for Jack to hear.

"Ok," Jack whispered. "The bleeding has stopped."

"That's a good thing right?" Sawyer said.

"Yeah," he nodded. "She's-she's lost a lot of blood."

"Well, can we give her more?" Sawyer asked. "I mean, I can-"

"What's your blood type?" Jack asked.

"Hell if I know," he replied.

"I can give her some blood," Jack whispered.

* * *

Sawyer waited while Kate slept. Jack kept insisting that Kate was going to be fine, but Sawyer wasn't buying it. The baby was laying in Aaron's old crib. Aaron was a year old and crawling around and too big for the crib. Sawyer looked down the beach where Claire was playing with Aaron in the water. He was giggling as the waves hit their legs. The baby started crying. Sawyer looked down at the baby and picked her up. He sighed deeply and rocked her.

"Hey," he said softly. "I don't know what I'm doin'. Sorry. Your momma will wake up soon though, and then she can take care of you."

The baby continued to cry. Sawyer looked down the beach. Claire had heard the baby crying. She walked toward them and smiled weakly.

"Jack told me that Kate was going to be just fine," Claire said.

"Do you believe him?" Sawyer asked.

"When has he ever steered us wrong?" she asked.

"Oh, I don't know, what about when he called for the freighter and then those guys with guns came and blew up your house?"

"Well he got rescue," Claire said.

"For six of them," he answered. "And look, they're right back here. Boone, Libby. Jack has never been good at saving lives. The only person in medical danger that didn't die, was you, and Jack didn't come anywhere near you."

"What about you?" she asked with a soft smile. "Jack saved you Sawyer."

"Yeah," he murmured.

"Well, just," she shook her head. "I think Kate will be just fine."

"I don't know what to do about the crying baby," he sighed.

"Here," she said with a smile. "Locke taught me a neat trick."

She took the baby from Sawyer's arms and started swaddling her like Locke had done with Aaron. The baby stopped crying. Claire handed the baby back to Sawyer and smiled at him.

"If she dies," Sawyer shook his head. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."

"She won't," Claire replied. "She'll want to see her baby. What are you going to name her?"

"I dunno," Sawyer smirked. "I'm kinda thinking that Kate will want to help with that. She might be kinda mad if I name the baby without her."

"Well, maybe you can think of ideas till she wakes up," Claire shrugged. "Sawyer, don't worry. All that's left to do now is wait. If you need any more help with the baby let me know."

"Thanks Claire," he mumbled.

"No problem," she said.

"Claire?" he asked. "Can you-"

"Can I what?" she asked.

"Will you take her," he whispered.

"The baby?" she asked. "Do you know how pissed Kate will be when she wakes up if the baby isn't here. The first thing she's gonna want to do is hold that baby."

"Well, then I'll come get you," he told her. "You said if I needed any help...well I need help."

"Sawyer, you can't be serious. The baby isn't even crying," she shook her head. "I'm not going to take the baby out of the tent. Just…hold her, bond with her."

Claire left the tent, leaving Sawyer alone with the baby. He looked down at her. She was perfect. He wished that Kate was awake to see her. He felt his heart flutter. It was different from the feeling he got when he saw Clementine's picture. When he saw Clementine's picture, he felt like he had swallowed a brick. He didn't know how to react to the fact that he was a father, but had missed all of Cassidy's pregnancy and all of the baby's life. The baby was only a couple months old when the picture was taken, but knowing that he had missed out made him more angry at himself than at Cassidy. He cared about Clementine, he cared about what happened to her, but for some reason he didn't love her like he loved the baby in his arms. But seeing the baby in his arms was different. He loved Kate. He had loved Kate for 4 years, but the baby was different. A different love than he had ever known was possible. She was his. His to protect forever. Nothing was going to come near this baby. Kate mumbled softly. Sawyer quickly looked down at her.

"Freckles?" he whispered.

"Hmm," she said again. "What's going on?"

"Freckles, are you alright?" he asked.

"The baby," she whispered.

"Baby's right here," he answered. He started handing her the baby and then she closed her eyes again. Sawyer got up and walked down the beach to where Jack was sitting. He was still holding the baby. Jack looked up at him but didn't say anything.

"What?" Jack asked. "Told you, the baby's fine. If you can't get her to stop crying-"

"Kate woke up," Sawyer said.

"What?" Jack asked.

"Kate woke up," he repeated. "She woke, up but then she fell back to sleep."

"Did she say anything?" he asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "She said somethin' about the baby. And then passed out again."

Jack got up and walked to the tent. Sawyer followed him, and then sat down in the tent. Jack looked at Kate and put his hands on either side of her face.

"Kate," he said out loud, but softly. "Kate."

He checked her pulse and then looked back at Sawyer.

"She's still ok," Jack whispered.

"Why is she still sleeping?" Sawyer asked.

"Maybe because she just had a baby Sawyer, she's tired," Jack answered.

"Why are you so mad at me?" Sawyer asked. "I just want to make sure that she's ok."

"She's fine," he replied.

"Yeah," Sawyer sighed. "Well, if she's not doc, that's on you."

"Shut up," Jack scoffed. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt her!"

"Well maybe not," he began. "But you're still punishing her for marrying me. For having a baby with me. Just admit it doc, and we'll be all good."

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt her," he repeated. "I wouldn't let anything happen to her!"

"Hey," Kate said, this time stronger than the last. "Give it a rest. Stop fighting."

She started sitting up, and Sawyer put his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think you should-" he began.

"I wanna hold the baby," she said. "And I want the two of you to stop fighting."

Sawyer handed her the baby and smirked at her.

"Sorry Freckles," he whispered. She shook her head and looked at the baby.

"It's forgotten," she replied. "Look at the baby. She's-"

"I know," he nodded. "What should we name her?"

"I've had 9 months to think about it," she whispered. "I don't know. I love you so much James."

He leaned toward her and kissed her lips. He rested his hand on her cheek and kissed her again. He looked at the baby."She's got freckles," he said."Well that name is already taken," she smiled and kissed his lips softly. "She's so cute. Babies aren't supposed to be this cute when they're born."

"Well, she's got cute parents," he shrugged.

"Jill," she said softly.

"Like Jack and Jill?" Sawyer asked. "I don't think so."

"Well, that's not what I was thinking, but I guess now that you say that," she sighed. "That isn't what I was thinking about James. I had a friend in high school named Jill. I've just always liked that name."

"Oh," he sighed.

"Fine," she said. "You got any ideas?"

"Not really," he answered. "I never really thought about it. I mean…you said it yourself, we've had 9 months, and we never really had a serious talk about it. I guess it doesn't really matter because whatever we name her, I ain't callin' her that."

"What?" she asked.

"Y'know," he shrugged. "I'll call her shrimp or peanut or strawberry shortcake. I don't do first names."

She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him.

"We can just think of a name later," she whispered.

"Jill," he said.

"What?" she asked. "James-"

"Well, I know that you want to name her that," he said. "And like I already said, I ain't gonna call her Jill. Let's name her Jill."

"OK," she whispered.

She reached over Sawyer to pick the baby up. She held the baby close and looked back at Sawyer.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I know," he said. "Love you too."

**A/N: OK, sorta an abrupt ending. The lost premiere was awesome! Pleaase review! **


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